Marlene Yuen 袁慧嫻 (she/her) is a visual artist. Born and raised in Vancouver, she is a second-generation Chinese-Canadian who lives, works and makes on the unceded and ancestral home territories of the xwməθkwəyə̓m (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səlílw̓ ətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Her practice varies from illustrations, prints, comics, zines and handmade books. Marlene’s books and zines have been retained in special collections archives nationally and internationally. In 2021, her short-run book, Ho Sun Hing Printers, received an honourable mention from the Vancouver Book Awards program. She has also created artworks about Vancouver’s historic Chinatown and Chinese Canadian labourers for museums, galleries and public art programs. Marlene has exhibited at the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre, grunt gallery, Griffin Art Projects, the Chinese Canadian Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery and Richmond Art Gallery. Her mural, The Journeys Here, will be part of a travelling exhibition, Odysseys and Migration, at the Royal BC Museum in 2025 and Barkerville Museum 2026.
Marlene is also a parent and has worked on artworks, residencies and endeavours pertaining to labour and caregiving. She currently serves on the West Coast visual arts sector advisory for Balancing Act’s x Mothra Level Up! program.
Photo credit: Perrin Grauer
Curriculum Vitae
Education
1998 Bachelor of Arts, major: Studio Arts, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Solo & Two Person Exhibitions
2025 (upcoming) Odysseys and Migration, Royal BC Museum, Victoria, BC
2023 Odysseys and Migration, Chinese Canadian Museum Vancouver, BC
2023 WOW MOM, Martha Street Studio, Winnipeg, MB
2020 Cheap! Diligent! Faithful! grunt gallery, Vancouver, BC
2018 Coal, Gold & War, Campbell River Art Gallery, Satellite Space, Campbell River, BC
2017 After Gold Mountain, Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, Hamilton, ON
Select Group Exhibitions
2024 FOODWAYS, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC
2024 Copy Machine Manifestos, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2023 Mothra: Eclipse, The Assembly Gallery, Hamilton, ON
2022 Mediating Heterogeneity, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
2021 UPGRADE, Festival Koma, International Comics Festival, Brno, Czech Republic
2021 Whose Chinatown, Griffin Art Projects, curated by Karen Tam, North Vancouver, BC
2019 MAU Calendar Pop-Up, BC Artscape, Sun Wah Centre, Vancouver, BC
2018 Prairie Art Book Fair, Plug In ICA, Winnipeg, MB
2017 Flotilla/Flotille, (Or Gallery), Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
2017 Zineposium, The Spice Factory, Hamilton, ON
2013 918 Letterpress Printed Ephemera Show, Samford University, Birmingham, AL
2013 Sheffield International Artist’s Book Prize Exhibit, Bank Street Arts, Sheffield, UK
2012 Frans Masereel Amongst Others, Frans Masereel Centrum, Kasterlee, Belgium
2011 Grafiek Vandaag, Contextual Impressions, Kasteel Le Paige, Herentals, Belgium
2010 Colin Waeghe/FMC Artist Book Collection, Kaleid Editions, London, UK
2009 BookMarked, Gallery 96 / Stratford Public Library, Stratford, ON
2008 Book Variations, South Vitrines, Habourfront Centre, Toronto, ON
2008 Ground Zero Redux, Helen Pitt Gallery ARC, Vancouver, BC
2007 Stumptown Comics Festival 2007, Lloyd Centre Doubletree Exhibit Hall, Portland, OR
2006 Something Pale Pink, Birdo Flugas Gallery, Shiogama, Japan
2006 Something Pale Pink, Sign Gaienmae Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2005 Yesterday, Western Front Society, Vancouver, BC
2005 Mobile Gallery Archive, Or Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2004 13 Persistent Bodies, Video In Studios, Vancouver, BC
Artist Residencies
2022/23 Mothra, Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto Island, ON
2022 Deer Lake Artist Residency, Burnaby, BC
2017 The Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Banff, AB
2011 PlaatsMaken, Silkscreen Studio, Arnhem, The Netherlands
2010/11 Frans Masereel Centrum, Flemish Centre for Graphic Arts, Kasterlee, Belgium
2009 Winter Printmaking/Letterpress Residency, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
2008 Klondike Institute of Art & Culture, Dawson City, YT
Commissioned Projects
2025 (upcoming) Hak Chu Pak Chu Publication, Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC
2023 The Journeys Here, gallery mural, Chinese Canadian Museum, Vancouver, BC
2022 General Idea Retrospective Audioguide, National Gallery of Canada
2018 Indian Summer Festival x Vancouver Art Gallery: Museum Bhavan, Dayanita Singh
2018 Chinatown Utility Wraps Project, commissioned by the City of Vancouver
Workshops
2024 Printing with Food & Collage Party, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC
2024 Lunar New Year Printmaking, Chinese Canadian Museum, Vancouver, BC
2022 Book & Printmaking, Arts Umbrella x Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2022 Bookbinding & Printmaking Workshop, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC
2021 Adding Pop-Up Elements to Comics, Vancouver Comic Art Festival, Vancouver, BC
2018/19 Bookmaking Workshop, Mom & Kid Camp, Camp Fircom, Gambier Island, BC
2018 Bookmaking Basics Workshop, Campbell River Art Gallery, Campbell River, BC
2017 Zine Making Workshop, Centre3, Hamilton, ON
2016 Culture Days: Letterpress Workshop, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
2008 Paper Engineers,(youth), KIAC & Dawson Recreation, Dawson City, YT
Reviews + Publications
2023 Christina Hajjar, Interview: “WOW MOM” Martha Street Studio
2020 EA Douglas, “Celebrating the Work of Marlene Yuen”, Femme Art Review
2020 Whess Harman & Vanessa Kwan, “Cheap! Diligent! Faithful!”, grunt gallery
2017 Tor Lukasik-Foss, review of “After Gold Mountain”, Critical Superbeast
2008 Jeremy Todd, Curatorial Essay: “Ground Zero Redux”, Helen Pitt Gallery ARC
2005 Robin Laurence, “Retro Pop Culture is Yesterday’s News” The Georgia Straight,
2005 Vanessa Kwan, Essay: “Yesterday: A Partial History”, Centre A & Powell Street
Artist Talks
2025 Visiting Artist Lecture Dept. of Visual Arts, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC
2024 Art Study: Books, Zines & Beyond, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2023 The Journeys Here, Chinese Canadian Museum, Vancouver, BC
2023 WOW MOM, Martha Street Studio, Winnipeg, MB
2021 Art Mamas Conversations, PLOT Residency, Access Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2021 Ho Sun Hing Printers: Whose Chinatown, Griffin Art Projects, North Vancouver, BC
2020 Cheap! Diligent! Faithful! grunt gallery x Vancouver Art Book Fair, Vancouver, BC
2020 Studio Duo: Art Education with Youth, Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington, ON
2017 After Gold Mountain, Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, Hamilton, ON
2008 AIR/Open Studio, Klondike Institute of Art & Culture, Dawson City, YT
Awards
2024 British Columbia Arts Council, Project Assistance for Visual Artist
2022 Canada Council for the Arts, Concept to Realization
2022 British Columbia Arts Council, Project Assistance for Visual Artist
2021 City of Vancouver Book Award, Honourable Mention
2020 British Columbia Arts Council, Microgrant
2019 British Columbia Arts Council, Project Assistance for Visual Artist
2017 Post-Residency Alumni Award, The Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity
2016 Canada Council for the Arts, Professional Visual Artist Travel Grant
2016 Canada Council for the Arts, Project Grant to Visual Artist
2016 British Columbia Arts Council, Project Assistance for Visual Artist
2008 Canada Council for the Arts, Professional Visual Artist Travel Grant
Permanent Collections
University of Victoria, McPherson Library, Victoria, BC
North Island College Library Special Collections, Courtenay, BC
Emily Carr University of Art & Design Library, Special Collections, Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, Special Collections, Vancouver, BC
University of British Columbia, Rare Books and Special Collections, Vancouver, BC
W.A.C. Bennett Library Special Collections, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
The Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives, Banff, AB
Bruce Peel Special Collections Library, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
York University, Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, Toronto, ON
Letterpress & Printmaking Archive, Penland School of Crafts, NC
Frans Masereel Centrum, Flemish Centre for Graphic Arts, Kasterlee, Belgium
Birdo Flugas Gallery, Shiogama, Japan
Peer Assessor/Advisory Work
2024 Advisory Committee (West Coast), Balancing Act x Mothra, Visual Arts
2023 Peer Assessor, City of Vancouver, Communities and Artists Shifting Culture
2023 Panel Juror, City of New Westminster, Public Art Program, Agnes Park
2021 Peer Assessor, British Columbia Arts Council, Visual Arts
marlene.yuen@gmail.com