Gallery Director Leo Yuan `14 is in the midst of the art capital of the world

In a beautiful building originally designed as a hotel in the early 20th century, Yuan has thus far put on eight shows as the gallery director of The Blanc. 

“Being a gallery director really allows me to carry out some of my curatorial visions. I get to show the artists I want. I get to present the work in a way that I think is beautiful in its own right,” Yuan said. 

Yuan’s interest in art began at a young age. Yuan, who is Chinese, practiced Chinese calligraphy as a young boy. He also distinctly remembers traveling to Shanghai with his mom to view a French impressionist painting show. They traveled for two hours to see the artwork, and even after they returned home, he liked to flip through the show’s catalog. 

Yuan came to Kansas City as an international student at Barstow. He attended Barstow from sophomore through senior year and participated in JV soccer and the Honor Council. He fondly remembers Aaron Ketchell’s history class, painting and photography classes with Mallory Hilvitz, and English and Art History classes with Mark Luce. He credits the Art History classes at Barstow for leading him on his current career trajectory, and he remembers their class blog, where students would write entries about various pieces of art. 

“These are the kind of experiences that made me decide to major in art history in college. And considering I’m still in the arts, that’s an origin story of how I got interested in art history,” he said. 

After Barstow, Yuan attended the University of Pennsylvania for undergraduate school and majored in art history. He also has master’s degrees from Sotheby’s Institute of Art and New York University. Throughout his career, he has worked for Phillips Auction House as an independent curator, an arts writer for Chinese and English publications, and now as a gallery director.

His current show at The Blanc, “Soft Friction,” is a textile-themed exhibition featuring the work of seven female artists. It is his first time curating a textile show.

“If you think of art you usually think of paintings and sculptures and maybe photography. I was surprised to see the quality of the work and the way the artists approach their practice. It’s very interesting and I've also noticed that textile art is really up and coming recently,” Yuan said.

One of Yuan’s favorite parts of the job is spending a lot of time with the artists and artwork, and growing with the artists, who are generally around his age. His shows range from MFA thesis shows to more established artists doing solo presentations. Yuan also enjoys consulting with his wife, who is an architect, on the exhibition design. And Yuan said he really enjoys living in New York, the capital of the art world.

“Everything that is happening in the art world, you can see in New York,” he said.

But despite the excitement of New York, Yuan said he sometimes misses life in Kansas City. His time at Barstow taught him about the various styles of life in America.

Before coming to the United States, Yuan had “this idea of America being like New York, a huge metropolis.” 

The suburbs of Kansas City, then, were a tad unexpected. As a teenager, he was frustrated at times because his activities were limited, he was not able to drive and he experienced some loneliness. This led him to strive to get to bigger cities, which he achieved during his college and professional life. 

“Before I came I had this expectation and that expectation being not fulfilled was my motivation to search for it,” Yuan said. “I got to the big city, but so what? I kind of missed the life before. I think that taught me to really enjoy the present and be at peace.”