Studio Visit & Interview With Lian Yung Morales
Interview and Photographs by Brandon Joseph Baker
I first met Lian Yung Morales at her first solo show, Lucky Numbers, at The Birdcage in April of 2025. The opening night was packed, the crowd spilling out onto Sutter Street. The gallery walls held 12 intricate black and white works featuring the animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Many of Lian’s works fuse animals and machines, frequently motorcycle components flow in and out of the animals organically. Her black and white works read like a surreal scientific field guide of dream creatures. Her education in biomedical science is self-evident in her paintings.
One of 12 pieces Lian showed at Birdcage in April 2025
A few weeks after her show closed, we met at her studio in The Mission District in San Francisco for this interview. I was awestruck at the talent she wields, especially when she told me she’s only been painting and pursuing art full time since 2024.
LIan works primarily with acrylic paint and she frequently paints on found materials, repurposed canvases or industrial surfaces which have outlived their original purpose as road signs.
“I love anything with character. I collect a lot of things and I am always drawn to items that tell a story. I find that using these lost canvases, street signs, or pieces of wood gives them another life and enhances my work.” Lian said.
I watch her bring a swan to life for her second solo show, Lotus, at Adobe Books. Lian titled the piece “Emerging From The Mud Without Being Stained.” The piece is 36”x48” but it feels formidable in her small studio space, filling most of the bay window of her studio. Her elaborate line work flows organically as she layers in black details, her brush darting back and forth from canvas to palette. Lian works quickly and precisely, she told me she usually has a vision for the work but rarely works off of a study for a piece. Seeing her preciseness and velocity first hand I understand how she completed the 12 pieces for Lucky Numbers in about 3 weeks.
“I find that once I get excited about a project it occupies so much of my mind that it is all I want to do.” Lian said about her working pace.
Interview
Thank you for meeting with me and opening up your studio for an interview while you’re beginning work for your second solo show of 2025 at Adobe Books. Your work lives on found surfaces and you frequently avoid starting a piece on a new store bought canvas. What do you find these discarded objects bring to your art?
I love anything with character. I collect a lot of things and I am always drawn to items that tell a story. I find that using these lost canvases, street signs, or pieces of wood give them another life and enhances my work. I don’t mind a blank canvas, but I find it way more fun to hunt for your canvas. It allows a lot of creativity in your process! I also believe it makes art more approachable. You don’t need professional items to be an artist or create art. Art is everywhere you look.
You mentioned only taking one figure drawing class in college, since you didn’t formally study art, where does this innate talent come from? What other art classes did you take in school?
I have always loved drawing as a kid, but I never took it seriously until recently. My mother went to school for art briefly so she taught me how to paint and draw growing up. My grandfather was also very talented at Chinese calligraphy so I also learned from him. Now, I host figure drawing sessions through Sketchboard so that helps me practice my drawing skills!
Can you tell the readers more about why you left your life in Mathematical and Computational Biology as a biomedical researcher at Stanford to pursue art?
I left this position because it was something I could not see myself pursuing for the rest of my life. I love what I studied, and I still am very interested in biology and mathematics but I found that being behind a computer was not for me. I still watch botany lectures online and have my anatomy coloring books, but I found myself so much happier pursuing something that I love very deeply. I’ve been able to connect with so many wonderful people through pursuing art, and I’m so excited to continue this journey. I know that I will always have my interest in mathematical and computational biology. I'm excited to incorporate it in my art and life differently.
You honed your skill sketching from live models at Sketchboard, but you don’t sketch out or do studies for your larger works a lot of your works are freehand. How do you navigate so many complex layers?
For my larger pieces that I complete, I always start with an idea in my head of where I want the piece to go. I often do studies of what I want to paint so I have ‘muscle memory’ if you will. When I start the painting, then I am able to recreate those lines with ease. A lot of this practice is through Sketchboard where I make the models cyborgs or try to draw a motorcycle from memory at session. I also visualize what I want to paint as a 3D object in my head so I can change where I want it to be placed in my painting. For my process, I really love freehanding my work because it allows for a lot of freedom in my design process. I always feel like I’m coming up with new ideas so this workflow enhances my creativity so I don’t feel constrained to one idea.
I’m still shocked to know you completed the twelve pieces for your first solo show “Lucky Numbers” at Birdcage in three weeks. Can you describe what that felt like to work towards that show?
I also don’t know how I did that. I find that once I get excited about a project it occupies so much of my mind that it is all I want to do. Because the show had a clear theme and subject matter, I found it really fun to check off each animal when I finished them. Once I completed them it felt so rewarding!
Lian’s solo show at Birdcage was inspired by the Chinese Zodiac, this piece references the Year of The Monkey.
You keep a little bag for working in the studio and sketching when you leave the studio. What pens and brushes do you always have with you?
I always keep my pentel brush pens and black wing pencils with me. I have a separate bag of my paint markers as well that I always carry with me. I use Uni px-30 and Edding paint markers.
The symbolism in your art, for example the incorporation of the number 8, can you tell the readers a little bit about why the number 8, what it means to you and about any other recurring symbols in your art?
Symbols hold a lot of meaning in my life because for me it feels like something is always looking out for you. It can be a reminder that you are loved and cared for, or a sign to make a decision you have been waiting on for a while. They are deeply personal and hold different meanings for everyone. I love details and adding them into my work because I want to connect with people who look at my art and I love when people think or feel things that are different when they see my work.
The number 8 is very important to me because it is a good luck charm. In Chinese, if ‘8’ is pronounced differently it means wealth. This can be interpreted as money, but I like seeing it as wealth in what you love, and what is important to you. If today you need wealth in self care, I hope you see an 8 on the way home. Or if you need wealth in food, I hope the meal is 8.88. I find that finding joy and meaning in symbols sparks so much creativity and also reflection within yourself. I hope that people who find these symbols don’t take them too seriously, and see them as a way to feel more connected with themselves and their community.
You mentioned finding your style in 2024, how would you describe your work?
I would describe my work as a mashup of everything I love. It is very hard for me to make decisions so I find myself very clearly displayed in my work. I love art but I also love biology, math and science so I try to combine everything that inspires me. I find myself always experimenting and trying new things so I am excited to keep finding a new style and improving my skills. Line work is the main style I use, but I plan on using different techniques and styles in the future.
The first completed portion of Lian’s mural at Adobe Books for her show Lotus.
What is your favorite animal to incorporate into your artwork?
I love drawing snakes and rabbits! Rabbits are my favorite because my dad, grandfather and I are all year of the rabbit.
What is your attraction to motorcycles and why do you incorporate them into your art?
I really like drawing and painting motorcycles because I can see all the machinery so clearly. It is a really incredible engineering/mechanical feat as well so I have been really enjoying learning about the different kinds of motorcycles that are out there including personal builds. Figuring out how a machine works is so exciting!
Lian’s mural on Haight Street in San Francisco.
We talked briefly about your experiences with street art, can you expand on how you pursue street art and the mediums you prefer?
I love going on walks in the city to clear my head. Doing art as well is something that helps keep me centered, so I combined these two activities. I also love street art and graffiti. I think it adds so much character to the community and city, and it is exciting to see who is out there as well. I usually use markers to make my pieces but for my murals I use acrylic paint and a paintbrush.
Lian begins the mural which will sweep across the walls behind the paintings in her second solo show of 2025 at Adobe Books in August.
For your show at Adobe Books what can we expect to see?
For this show, I am working on telling my grandfather's story, detailing his journey from FuZhou to America. I’ll have a collection of pieces and also a mural that ties together everything in a story format. I am really excited but also nervous for this show. It is my second solo show so I am still learning how things go. But my community has been incredibly supportive and kind. I hope that people who come see it resonate with it and can connect with how difficult it is for immigrants to come to the US and start a life here. I am also named after my grandfather so I feel very excited to share this story. The title of the show is Lotus, which is the meaning of his name.
I look forward to seeing the mural you’ve completed for Lotus and how it ties in with the rest of the works in your show. Thank you again for talking with me about your work.
