Skip to content Untitled by Tonya Lewis and Raymond Tingley
Untitled by Taneya Lovelace

Doris Yen

Click on the following icons to view artwork by Doris Yen:

  • After Klimt
  • Barbershop Sign
  • Black Cow
  • Creature
  • Elephant
  • Making Music
  • Many Fish
  • Saint
Doris Yen
Doris Yen

Born in 1965, Doris Yen has always lived in San Francisco, and has been an artist at Creativity Explored since 1999.

Though Yen is well versed in a variety of media, including pastels, textiles, and ceramics, it is the subtle delicacy of watercolor which best suits her exacting style. Yen creates figurative work by using source material like photographs and art books and introduces new colors and elements to make the piece her own. Her Chinese heritage is evident in much of the subject matter she explores as well as in the sensitivity of her black brushstrokes, which echo Chinese calligraphy work. This sensitivity is also apparent in her printmaking, which began in 2009. Yen uses her delicate, assured marks to portray fish, cows, monkeys, and creatures that defy description. Often isolated in the frame, and positioned against a solid background, these pieces combine a naturalist’s eye for detail with an artist’s sense of composition.

Selected Exhibitions

  • 2010

    • Tiger Leaping Gold Mountain, Creativity Explored
    • Santos y Otros Creatures, Creativity Explored
  • 2009

    • Introductions, Creativity Explored
    • A Night at Findlay’s Dance Hall, Creativity Explored
  • 2007

    • SF Notables Portrait Auction, 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco
    • Naked, Creativity Explored
  • 2006

    • Nature Rules, Creativity Explored
    • SF Notables Portrait Auction, 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco
  • 2004

    • Spirits and Saints, Creativity Explored
  • 2002

    • Women’s Work, Creativity Explored

the workspace of Marietta Canoza, studio artist