Within the realm of Luke Chueh’s canvases, tragedy is mixed with subtle humour. He explores the liminal space between innocence and despair, eloquently showing his ability to artfully balance multiple contradictions – and tug on heart strings (cute bears, anyone?). Simultaneously, Luke examples his narrative restraint with the use of minimalist colour palettes and simple, yet poignant, scenes, allowing us to focus on his messages without external distractions. Embodied by his wide-eyed bears, it’s hard not to feel melancholy and protective towards his painted creatures. Better yet to see them in the flesh. This Saturday, Luke brings his latest series of paintings to Harman Projects Gallery in NYC in his debut show with the gallery, offering the perfect opportunity to absorb each brush stroke up close within Making Light of the Darkness.
Making Light of the Darkness marks Luke Chueh’s first major solo exhibition in NYC – this is not to be missed!
Luke Chueh: Making Light of the Darkness
Exhibition Dates: August 16th – September 6th, 2025
Opening reception: August 16th, 6pm to 8pm (free event)
Harman Projects NYC
210 Rivington Street, New York, NY 10002
Gallery Hours
Tuesday – Saturday / 10am – 6pm
For further information email info@harmanprojects.com
From press release
Known for his signature totems of bears and rabbits, Chueh draws viewers into an emotional space that is at once deeply personal but yet widely relatable. Through his latest series of paintings, Chueh explores the darkness enveloping both his personal and our greater cultural lives. Not to extinguish it, but to render it bearable, luminous.
The works in Making Light of the Darkness reflect a shift in tone for the artist: softer, more introspective, while still subtly playful and self-aware. However once the curtain of cuteness is pulled back, the works retain the emotional weight that has long defined his practice.
In paintings like Everything’s Fine [below], a bear sits serenely while engulfed in flames, an analogue painting created within a digital meme-ified world.
In regards to ‘Strings Tied’ [above]: “Hoodies have been one of my favorite pieces of clothing since I was a teenager.” shares Luke. “I would humorously refer to it as my “armor”. A nod to the Kevin Smith classic “Dogma”. I guess you can say this painting has my character fully armored, keeping the outside world at bay.”
“When I think of my Bing Chilling series, all I can say is: I’m a silly guy.” shares Luke. “The series draws inspiration from a few different corners of my mind – the first being the viral song “AiScReam” from Love Live!. It completely took over my FYP during the first half of 2025; and even though it’s since lost steam, it still lingers in my head.
“The second source is my love for anthropomorphism—putting faces on sweet treats just feels like a given in my world. Finally, the title comes from the John Cena meme, where he panders to his Chinese audience while eating a bing qi lin (ice cream).”
About Luke Chueh //
Chueh’s work has often been situated within the Pop Surrealist and low‑brow art movements, drawing visual lineage from artists such as Yoshitomo Nara, Takashi Murakami, and Mark Ryden. Born in Philadelphia in 1973 and raised in Fresno, California, Chueh studied graphic design at California Polytechnic State University before emerging in the early 2000s Los Angeles art scene. His paintings, toys, and collaborative projects have since been exhibited internationally in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Tokyo, and have been collected by worldwide audiences drawn to his unique fusion of designer‑toy aesthetics, narrative figuration, and disarming emotional honesty.
About the Gallery //
Harman Projects was founded in 2022 by curator and gallerist Ken Harman Hashimoto. Their goal is to provide an inclusive and welcoming environment to foster a community of like-minded artists, collectors, and art lovers in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and beyond. The focus at Harman Projects is broad but lies mainly in the New Contemporary genre, encompassing historical movements such as New York City graffiti and SoCal pop- surrealism alongside contemporary schools of art such as Bay Area abstracted realism, international muralism, and Japanese-inspired SuperFlat.
