Qingjun Huang

Artist Statement

In early 1997, as a professional photographer, I went to Peony River city in Hei-Long-Jiang province to take photographs. I happened to discover a very old narrow-gauge railway on the left hand side of the highway. I thought the railway was abandoned, however, I was told that this was a small railway used to carry timber from the nearby forest, and all the trains were still hauled by steam train locomotives! This suddenly brought back all my wonderful memories of steam engines. As a result, I set out to capture surviving traces of the steam era with my camera. I was anxious to capture this unusual feeling, therefore, I carried my photography-kit bag and started my strenuous pursuit of the steam experience from one forest to another one, from one locomotive to another. My footprints chasing steam locomotives can be found all over China. Through my camera lens, I have documented the last era of steam locomotives in China.

Biography

Qingjun Huang is a freelancer artist. He was born and raised in China, currently based in Peoria, IL.

Qingjun's representative works are from 1997 to 2006, and from 2003 till present. His works have been exhibited worldwide, including Christie’s London, International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Switzerland, Chengdu Art Museum, Hunan Art Museum, Xi’an Art Museum Three Shadows Photography Art Center China, HeadOn Photofestival Australia, Photoquai Photography Biennial France, Singapore International Photography Festival, Helsinki Photo Festival, Benaki Museum Athens Greece, College of Lake County USA, among others. Qingjun is included in exhibition CIVILIZATION-The Way We Live Now, at Kunsthalle München Germany April 2025.

BBC has featured him four times, NY Times, Bloomberg, Wired, Business Insider, Guardian, China Daily also published his works. His works are in books and magazines such as HUMAN.KIND, NatGeo, Harvard Business Review, My House My Room, Family Photography Now, Architecture Boston, Chinese Photography, Grazia etc. His works shown in textbooks Oxford University and National Geographic learning.

Qingjun is very active in participating Peoria arts events and exhibitions, he had solo show twice at Contemporary Art Center for “Family Stuff” series, including the latest 12 works created in Peoria, and he just finished “Steam Locomotive in China” show at Peoria Art Guild. The “Family Stuff” photographs featuring Peorian families have published on several magazines and online, showed in Chengdu Art Museums China, galleries in Chicago, Palm Beach, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, etc. in past two years.

Qingjun won rewards including Fujifilm 2022 GFX Grant Challenge Global Winner, Lishui Photography Festival Best of Show, Tokyo International Foto Award (gold), etc.

Publishments of photobooks are including A Family’s Possessions The Great Changes of Chinese Families over a Decade, 2023. Huang Qingjun 2019. Family Stuff works are juried into permanent collection of Louisiana State University Museum of Art, Appleton Museum of Art, College of Lake County, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Figge Art Museum.