SK Circle | Artist Interview with Yuwei Tu

Using a layered process, Yuwei Tu (b. 1995, Sichuan, China) articulates the nuance and complexity of interiority through painting. Her work is informed by personal experiences and investigations in the construction of identities and relationships to create a visual language of the psyche. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Painting/Printmaking at Yale School of Art, class of 2026.

SK: What medium do you primarily work in, and what draws you to it?

Yuwei Tu: I've been working mainly in oil - I love the malleability and buildability of the medium, it's very forgiving. Especially for depicting flesh, it lends itself so beautifully, allowing for radiance and translucency between the layers to show through.

SK: When did you first discover Spinelli Kilcollin?

Yuwei Tu: I can't remember the first time I encountered SK, must've been nearly a decade ago! When I first moved to New York in 2017, just out of college and starting my corporate job at the time, my dad had chosen a Spinelli ring for me to mark the occasion. I wear it every day. I don't see him often so it means a lot to me and still feels so elegant and timeless.

SK: How do you see our jewelry fitting into your artistic world?

Yuwei Tu: As a brand, I'm drawn to Spinelli's integrity to design, knowing who you are and honing in on that rather than chasing trends and aimless expansion. As an artist, that's something I'm always aiming for as well, staying true to my practice and who I am as a person. As a philosophy, we also share similar views on the interconnectivity of life - between people, the natural world, all beings.

SK: What was your creative process like for this piece? Any inspirations or challenges?

Yuwei Tu: I knew I wanted to create a piece that was representative of us both. I love painting hands - they can communicate so much emotion and nuance. And when I think of Spinelli I immediately think of interconnected rings. The composition for this piece came from a beautiful vintage Rodin book that I was gifted recently. On the cover is this work he made in 1908 called The Cathedral, where two hands are gently intertwined around each other. I was drawn to that coming together of the two forms, while also encompassing a space in between, and however we each interpret that void.

SK: What school are you currently attending, and how has your education shaped your work?

Yuwei Tu: I'm currently finishing my first year at the Painting MFA program at Yale. It's been intense but I'm incredibly grateful to be here, I've learned so much and met such wonderful people. I especially appreciate being able to take classes outside art school - last semester I took a psychology course and right now I'm in a gender and sexuality art history seminar. All these things I’m interested in and inform my practice.

SK: What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to in your paintings?

Yuwei Tu: I’m fascinated by people. In the relationships we build between ourselves and others, how those are informed and constructed and shifted etc. Exploring the complexity and intensity of interiorites and how to build a visual language around that.

SK: Are there any artists or movements that have influenced your style?

Yuwei Tu: I always say my favorite artist is Louise Bourgeois. I’m drawn to the way she thinks about art and the incredible manifestations of her own life through it, whether it be sculpture, paintings, etc. She was heavily influenced by psychoanalysis and it shows up in the way she portrays her relationship with her family, particularly her mother.