For most, when we think of visual art, the great artists (of the past) tend to come to mind: Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock and more. Since many artists spend most of their career starving and struggling to make a living wage, and often finding fame and recognition posthumously, the general public isn’t always aware of the great living, modern artists. Moreover, modern art is often debated as “fake art,” partly due to the result of “everything has already been done,” a postmodern perspective that there aren’t any more original concepts, but rather, only reimaginations or recreations of past works and concepts.
However, I believe that like all art of the past, modern art has an unique opportunity to address the current cultural challenges that we, as young people, face in the 21th century. Enter, PQHAÜS—an art house founded by PQ, an artist from San Francisco, California. In most of PQ’s acrylic paintings, PQ confronts the important emotions that society tends to push away or put in a box, particularly what sadness looks like for younger generations.
In “Hey sorry, We can’t come,” PQ depicts a man sitting alone at a fast food restaurant after being ghosted with two sets of orders in front of him. The artwork is poignant, yet simple, speaking to how modern sadness is subtle, yet ingrained all around us.
In another painting, “Sorry, I didn’t let you fly,” PQ paints the image of both a child and an adult with wings, but holding a pair of scissors, the adult is clipping the child’s wings. Through “Sorry, I didn’t let you fly,” PQ’s attention to detail is striking and heart-wrenching. Here, the adult’s wings are tattered, having seemingly been clipped by someone else and there are crushed paper planes by his feet. However, at the child’s feet, there is a stack of paper, which can be interpreted as the young child’s potential that is being taken away by the adult.
PQ masterfully tells a heartbreaking story through “You know we can’t ask her to get another job, she’s only 16,” which pairs a commanding image of two parents arguing inside of the house as the daughter cries outside, with both the car and the house painted with “for sale” signs. This painting is just another example of PQ’s influential storytelling that highlights the obstacles that ordinary people face everyday in a personal way that reminds us not to be desensitized by how society and media treats hardship and tragedy.
Beyond the artwork, it is important to mention PQ’s personal mission for creating artworks centered around difficult subjects and emotions. Growing up, PQ felt that society often conveyed the message that sadness was something to hide, to hold back, and deal with alone. However, as PQ says, “when [I] found myself in the darkest tunnel of my life, the one thing that made me feel less alone was, oddly enough, sad art— paintings, music, films. Those stories recognized my pain and reminded me that I was still part of something important. They helped me realize that it’s okay not to be happy all the time.” Similar to the works of art that helped PQ understand that acknowledging sadness is as important as feeling the other emotions, PQ hopes that their artworks can do the same for others.
As PQ has many memorable artworks, I highly encourage you to take the time to support and appreciate this rising artist’s artworks. I believe that they are not only thought-provoking, but a valuable discussion-starter on important modern issues such as mental illness, emotional well-being, and interpersonal relationships. Art is a powerful medium that has the potential to make waves of change for the better; when it comes to harnessing the beauty behind our emotions, PQHAÜS does just that.
