A survey of Taiwanese artist Tu-2’s early Mao-ology work, featuring select
A survey of Taiwanese artist Tu-2’s early Mao-ology work, featuring selections from his 108 series of blue and silver portraits made through “meditative mark-making” using only one silver pencil on blue paper, as well as other recent work. Born Tu Ying-ming, Tu-2 served in the Taiwan military as a bodyguard to the family of Chiang Kai-shek before studying history at National Taiwan University, and first drew international attention in the 1990s with his Mao-ology and Timeless series, both of which fused the iconography of Mao Zedong with Mickey Mouse to critical acclaim across Asia, Europe, and the United States. Exhibited in Belgium, Los Angeles, and Taipei, the Mao-ology series has been described by critics as a bold work of revolutionary art, using the collision of two of the twentieth century’s most reproduced faces — the authoritarian political icon and the cheerful mascot of American consumer culture — to probe questions of ideology, image-making, and inherited authority.
After a decade of success with Mao-ology and Timeless, Tu-2 stepped back from painting altogether and turned inward, immersing himself in Zen meditation practice, including repeated pilgrimages to a Zen temple in Hawaii. That period of withdrawal gave rise to the 108 series: a body of spiritual portraits in silver pencil on blue paper that the artist has described as an attempt to reveal the interior qualities of their subjects rather than their outward likeness. Each portrait is made in a focused meditative state, connected to the subject’s essence and drawn only on the exhale — a practice that can take anywhere from a few hours to several days to complete, and that many of the finished works register through their subjects’ closed eyes, as though caught mid-breath rather than posed.
For this exhibition, a large section of the gallery has been transformed into a meditation refuge, color-matched to the blue of Tu-2’s portraits, where viewers and students alike are invited to stay and practice mindfulness as well as learn about the meditative practices used to make the work. Visitors familiar with Tu-2’s regular meditation sessions have described the space as carrying a distinct, calming energy of its own — a quality rarely associated with a gallery setting, but one that speaks to the exhibition’s aim of collapsing the distance between artwork and contemplative practice, inviting the viewer not just to look, but to sit still.
ions from his 108 series of blue and silver portraits made through “meditative mark-making” using only one silver pencil on blue paper, as well as other recent work. The exhibition space has been transformed into a meditation refuge where viewers are invited to stay and practice mindfulness as well as learn about meditation practices.
Tu-2, Artist
Tu-2, born Tu Ying-Ming, is a Taiwanese-born, Los Angeles-based visual artist renowned for his work in fine art, photography, and film. Before turning to art, Tu served in the Taiwan military as a bodyguard to the family of Chiang Kai-shek, an experience that preceded his studies in history at National Taiwan University. His early career in the 1990s was marked by the acclaimed “Mao-ology” and “Timeless” series, which garnered international attention across America, Asia, and Europe, exhibiting in cities including Los Angeles, Taipei, and cities in Belgium. Mao-ology, which fused the iconography of Chairman Mao Zedong with that of Mickey Mouse, was hailed by critics as a bold, tour-de-force work of revolutionary art, using two of the twentieth century’s most reproduced faces to probe questions of ideology, image, and inherited authority.
After a decade of success with these early series, Tu-2 stepped back from painting and turned inward, immersing himself in Zen meditation practice, including repeated pilgrimages to a Zen temple in Hawaii. That period of contemplation gave rise to his ongoing Blue Series (also referred to as the 108 series), a body of spiritual portraits rendered in silver pencil on blue paper. Made through what the artist calls “meditative mark-making,” each portrait is created in a focused meditative state, connected to the subject’s essence and drawn only on the exhale — a practice that can take anywhere from a few hours to several days to complete.
His multifaceted career encompasses painting, photography, and documentary filmmaking, reflecting his commitment to exploring the intersection of art, spirituality, and human connection. An avid athlete as well as an artist, Tu-2 has long applied the same meditative focus he developed through judo to his ongoing practice of soccer and tennis, subjects that also appear throughout his drawings. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Angela Oh, an attorney, longtime advocate for the Asian American community, and ordained Zen Buddhist priest in the Rinzai sect.