Bio
May Kytonen is a visual artist based in Seattle, WA, exploring Asian-American identity and belonging. Since earning a degree in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts from the University of Washington in 2012, her work and installations have been exhibited throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Notable solo shows include work exhibited at the Seattle Center, Lewis-Clark State College, the City of Seattle’s Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery, ArtsWest, Shunpike’s Storefronts Program, Spaceworks Tacoma, and Auburn’s Art on Main. Her group exhibitions include work shown at the Wing Luke Museum, Boise State University, Central Washington University, Schack Art Center, Cornish Playhouse, ARTS at King Street Station, and the Vera Project.
May is a recipient of an Artist Trust GAP award and smART Ventures Mini Grant through the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. In 2021, she was selected for both the ArtsWA Public Artist Roster and Seattle Public Artist Roster, in addition to the Seattle Ethnic Artist Roster.
CV
MAY KYTONEN
b. 1989, Kirkland, WA
EDUCATION
2012 BA in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Affinity Occasion, Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, ID
2023 Mother Tongue: Deluge Stories, Bethany Presbyterian Church, Seattle, WA
2022 Path of the Sky Dragon, Temporary Public Installation at Seattle Center
2021 In the Fabric of Space & Time II, Maverick Building, Burien, WA
2021 Yuán Fèn: We Were Fated, Art on Main, Auburn, WA
2020 Yuán Fèn, Shunpike Storefronts, Seattle, WA
2020 Throughlines, Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
2019 In the Fabric of Space & Time, Spaceworks, Tacoma, WA
2019 Blended Traditions, ArtsWest, Seattle, WA
2018 Close/Divide, Saranac Art Projects, Spokane, WA
2018 To Give and Receive, South Hill Library, Spokane, WA
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS
2022 Anterior Periapt, Seattle Restored at 2+U, Seattle, WA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 In the Mean Time, Terrain Gallery, Spokane, WA
2022 Liminal Hymns, Core Gallery, Seattle, WA
2022 40 Under 40, Schack Art Center, Everett, WA
2022 Tangents, Sarah Spurgeon Gallery at CWU, Ellensburg, WA
2022 i am, myself, three selves at least, SOIL Gallery, Seattle, WA
2022 Meet Us in the Afterglow, SOIL Gallery, Seattle, WA
2022 My Ancestors Taught Me, Confluence Gallery, Twisp, WA
2021 Threaded III, Envision Arts, Virtual Exhibition
2021 Interfacing With Missed Connections, Artworks Center for Contemporary Art, Loveland, CO
2021 ACES: Artists of Color Expo & Symposium, Vera Project Gallery, Seattle, WA
2021 Paths Intertwined, Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, WA
2020 Created, Rosen Centre, Orlando, FL
2020 Threshold, Chase Gallery, Spokane, WA
2020 ACES: Artists of Color Expo & Symposium, Vera Project Gallery, Seattle, WA
2019 Brighter Future, ARTS at King Street Station, Seattle, WA
2019 Artists Up, Cornish Playhouse, Seattle, WA
2019 In the Mix, Boise State University, Boise, ID
2019 Selah, Japanese Baptist Church, Seattle, WA
2019 Hibernate, Emerge Gallery, Coeur d'Alene, ID
2018 Seattle Emerging Arts Fair, Canvas Event Space, Seattle, WA
2018 Fibrant, Washington Cracker Building, Spokane, WA
2018 Out of Print, Saranac Art Projects, Spokane, WA
2018 Connecting Threads, Confluence Gallery, Twisp, WA
2018 May Kytonen & Sonya Lang, Gallery at Town Center, Lake Forest Park, WA
2017 Convergence, Emerge Gallery, Coeur d'Alene, ID
2017 Small Works, Saranac Art Projects, Spokane, WA
2017 ACES: Artists of Color Expo & Symposium, Seattle Center Armory Lofts, Seattle, WA
2017 Common Thread, Emerge Gallery, Coeur d'Alene, ID
2017 4th Annual Pop-Up Show, Emerge Gallery, Coeur d'Alene, ID
2017 Tiffany Patterson & Friends Benefit Show, Emerge Gallery, Coeur d'Alene, ID
2017 Share the Love Benefit Show, Bellwether Brewing Company, Spokane, WA
2017 Drawn Away, Chase Gallery, Spokane, WA
2016 Kaleidoscope Flash, Little Dog Art Gallery, Spokane, WA
2016 Terrain 9, Washington Cracker Building, Spokane, WA
2016 Spokane WAM (Women + Art + Media), Spokane International Airport, Spokane, WA
2016 Touchstone Forms, Little Dog Art Gallery, Spokane, WA
2016 First Friday Pop Up Show, Communitas Art Space, Spokane, WA
2016 Spokane WAM Expo, Richmond Art Collective & The Bartlett, Spokane, WA
2012 Interdisciplinary Visual Arts Senior Exhibition, University District Alley Art Walk, Seattle, WA
AWARDS/RESIDENCIES
2022 Artist-in-Residence, The Seattle Residency Project, Indianola, WA
2021 Selected for ArtsWA Public Artist Roster, Washington State Arts Commission
2021 Selected for Seattle Public Artist Roster, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
2019 Selected for Seattle Ethnic Artist Roster, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
2019 Artist-in-Residence, Brehm Cascadia, Seattle, WA
2017 Selected for Seattle Ethnic Artist Roster, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
2017 smART Ventures Mini Grant Recipient, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
2017 Grant for Artist Projects (GAP) Award Recipient, Artist Trust
COMMISSIONS
2017 Art Commission, I've Been Keeping Things In and No Heart On My Sleeve, Forza Coffee Company, Spokane, WA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2022 Michael Gallagher, SOIL Artist Collective exhibit opens at CWU, The Daily Record, Sep. 23
2022 Erika Lindsay, Seattle Center Art Activations: Summer 2022, Office of Arts and Culture Art Beat Blog, Sep. 13
2022 Jas Keimig, A Wave of Art Installations and Pop-Ups Make a Short Term Home in Downtown Seattle, The Stranger, Apr. 11
2021 Madeleine Boyson, Interfacing with Missed Connections, DARIA Magazine, Jul. 23
2021 Natalie Swaby, Seattle exhibit features works from artists of Taiwanese, Chinese diaspora, King 5, May 3
2021 Margo Vansynghel, Five art shows to see as Seattle-area museums reopen, Crosscut, Feb. 17
2018 Megan Gallagher, Artistic Profile Series: May Kytonen, Artist Trust’s “In Artist’s We Trust” Blog, Jun. 26
2018 Chey Scott, Artistic Saturation, The Inlander, Feb. 1
2018 Audrey Overstreet, Saturate: Spokane Artist May Kytonen Weaves Newsprint into the Story of Asian-American Lives, The Spokesman Review, Jan. 31
2017 Audrey Overstreet, Artist Trust Makes Grant Awards to Four Spokane-area Artists, The Spokesman Review, Oct. 26
2017 Carrie Scozzaro, Spokane Arts Highlights Local Minority Artists for "Saturate", February's Biannual Visual Arts Tour, The Inlander, Feb. 2
2016 Brianna Van Dyke, And The Soul Felt Its Worth, Ruminate Magazine, Winter 2016. Pp. 56-60
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2021-2023 Member, SOIL Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
2017-2018 Member, Saranac Art Projects, Spokane, WA
2017-2018 Member, Glittercouch, Spokane, WA
2017 Guest Panelist, Kalos Visual Art Prize, Ruminate Magazine
ARTIST TALKS & PRESENTATIONS
2024 Bethany Presbyterian Church, Seattle, WA, Feb. 9
2023 Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, ID, Oct. 19
2021 Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, WA, Jul. 10
2020 Seattle Center Armory Lofts, Seattle, WA, Feb. 29
2019 Resonance at SOMA Towers, Bellevue, WA, Apr 5
2017 Seattle Center Armory Lofts, Seattle, WA, Nov 18
2016 Little Dog Art Gallery, Spokane, WA, Jul 22