Artist Biography
Frank Yung-Fong Tang (譚永鋒) was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and lives and works in Sunnyvale, California. He is a contemporary painter focusing on human self-portraiture, portraits of close friends, and an expansive ongoing body of feline character portraiture. Investigating the intimate "private image" of living beings, Frank explores Acrylic, Oil, Watercolor, Chalk Pastel, Charcoal, Collage, and Photography.
Frank’s artwork has been featured in group exhibitions across Northern California, including multiple juried selections at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Foothill College Library, and Peninsula Bible Church in Cupertino. His self-portraiture won the Best Drawing Award at the 2024 De Anza Student Art Show, and his paintings İzmir and Redemption won First Place in the 2026 Red Wheelbarrow Awards. He was also awarded the Annette Pearlstein Scholarship Award and the Foothill College Art Division Award.
In addition to his studio practice, Frank holds multiple academic degrees: an A.A. in Art from Foothill College (June 2026); A.A.-T. in Studio Arts, A.A.-T. in Art History, A.A. in Art History, and A.A. in Liberal Arts from De Anza College; a Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS) from UC Berkeley (2022); a Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) from Northeastern University, Boston (1993); and an Electronic Engineering Diploma from Ming-Hsin Junior Engineering College (1987). He currently works as a senior software engineer at Google focusing on internationalization and Unicode standards.
Artist Statement
Three foundational influences deeply inform my practice:
- Chuck Close: Learning how Close embraced severe physical disabilities into his art encouraged me to follow in his footsteps, incorporating photography and precision grid methodologies to maintain proportion accuracy in large-scale portraiture.
- Georgia O'Keeffe: Her close-in, magnified flower studies urged me to reexamine facial illustrations from unconventional angles and extreme close-ups, rendering a vulnerable "private image" away from traditional formal portraiture.
- Hung Liu: Liu opened my imagination and inspired my core mission: to put more Asian faces into Western art museums. I am currently investigating and redefining portraiture for the contemporary era.
Group Exhibitions
- Aug 2026 Fine Art in the Park, Lincoln Park, Los Altos, CA (Aug 8–9, 2026)
- May 2026 2026 De Anza Student Art Show, Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino, CA (May 5–June 6, 2026)
- May 2025 2025 De Anza Student Art Show, Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino, CA (May 13–June 5, 2025)
- June 2025 2025 Foothill College Student Art Exhibition, Foothill College Library, Los Altos Hills, CA (June 4–25, 2025)
- May 2024 2024 De Anza Student Art Show, Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino, CA (May 7–June 6, 2024)
- 2023–2024 The Gospel of John, Art in the Auditorium, Peninsula Bible Church, Cupertino, CA
- 2018–2019 Who IS This Child?, Art in the Auditorium, Peninsula Bible Church, Cupertino, CA
- 2018 The Body of Christ, Art in the Auditorium, Peninsula Bible Church, Cupertino, CA
Art Awards & Honors
- June 2026 First Place Art Award — 2026 Red Wheelbarrow Award (for paintings İzmir and Redemption), De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
- June 2026 Art History Division Award, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA
- May 2026 Judges' Award Special Recognition of Finalists, Research & Service Leadership Symposium, Foothill College
- June 2025 Annette Pearlstein Scholarship Award, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA
- Dec 2024 Summa Cum Laude Honors, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
- May 2024 Drawing Award — 2024 De Anza Student Art Show (for Self-Portrait, Chalk Pastel)
Education
- Aug 2026 Associate in Arts – Transfer (A.A.-T.) in Studio Arts for Transfer, Summa Cum Laude, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
- Aug 2026 Associate in Arts – Transfer (A.A.-T.) in Art History for Transfer, Summa Cum Laude, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
- June 2026 Associate in Arts (A.A.) in Art, High Honors, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA
- June 2026 Certificate of Achievement in Humanities, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
- March 2024 Associate in Arts (A.A.) in Art History, Summa Cum Laude, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
- March 2024 Certificate of Achievement-Advanced in Art History, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
- Dec 2023 Associate in Arts (A.A.) in Liberal Arts (Arts & Letters Emphasis), Summa Cum Laude, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
- May 2022 Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS), University of California, Berkeley, CA
- June 1993 Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS), Northeastern University, Boston, MA
- July 1987 Diploma in Electronic Engineering, Highest Honor, Ming-Hsin Junior Engineering College, Taiwan
Art & Research Presentations
- May 2026 The Making of 'Double Chins' (2025), Acrylic on Canvas, 60x48 inch — Research & Service Leadership Symposium, Foothill College
- May 2026 The Marble Court of Sardis: A Case Study in Early Globalization and Architectural Harmony — Research & Service Leadership Symposium, Foothill College
Art Publications & Essays
- June 2026 İzmir (2026, Acrylic) — Red Wheelbarrow Student Edition 2026, p. 25
- June 2026 Redemption (2025, Acrylic) — Red Wheelbarrow Student Edition 2026, p. 72
- June 2026 "Jack is Gone! No! He is Not!" (Literary Piece) — Red Wheelbarrow Student Edition 2026, pp. 104–105
- June 2025 Binary Black Holes (2024, Acrylic) — Red Wheelbarrow Student Edition 2025, p. 71
- June 2025 "A Time of Destruction" (Literary Piece) — Red Wheelbarrow Student Edition 2025, p. 96
- June 2025 "Put More Paintings of Asians into Museums" — Red Wheelbarrow Student Edition 2025, p. 148
- June 2024 Self-Portrait (2023, Watercolor) — Red Wheelbarrow Student Edition 2024, p. 28
- June 2024 "Two views of facing age and death" (Literary Piece) — Red Wheelbarrow Student Edition 2024, p. 102
Documentary Videos & Media Coverage
- June 2025 La Voz News: “Photo Essay: Out of the Box, into the Soul” by Aidai Boobekova
- June 2025 The Foothill Script: “Foothill College Student Art Exhibition 2025”
- May 2024 La Voz News: “Euphrat holds the Spring Art Student Showcase”
- March 2026 Video: The Making of İzmir (2026) (YouTube Short)
- June 2025 Video: The Making of Binary Black Holes (2024) (YouTube Video)
- Feb 2025 Video: Put More Paintings of Asians into Museums (YouTube Video)