Emily Yong Beck is a Chicago-based ceramicist whose work seeks to unearth and explore draconian truths behind palliated historical narratives through the invocation of pervasive cartoon characters from pop culture. She employs a ceramic de-skillation to reveal the dark underbelly which hides behind a veneer of saccharinity – through her augmented visions of characters including Garfield, Popeye, and Hello Kitty, Yong seeks to extract any notions of innocence or docility. Yong earned her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2021, and her recent exhibitions include Whiskers on Kittens, Gaa Projects (Cologne); Spoonful of Sugar, New Image Art Gallery (Los Angeles) ; Lions & Lambs, Gaa Gallery (Provincetown); and Emily Yong Beck + Kaylie Kaitschuck, NADA New York, Gaa Gallery (New York).