Anthropomorphic Bears and Bunnies Stand in for Humans in Paintings Commenting on Modern Life

Anthropomorphic Bears and Bunnies Stand in for Humans in Paintings Commenting on Modern Life Life is nothing without contrasts. Things can be sad, but they can also be funny. Someone can be sincere yet weave sarcasm into their response. Los Angeles-based artist Luke Chueh explores this type of duality—and contradictions—in his solo exhibition titled Making Light of the Darkness, now on view at Harman Projects in New York City. […] READ: Anthropomorphic Bears and Bunnies Stand in for Humans in Paintings Commenting on Modern Life

Art Aug 28, 2025 0 3 Add to Reading List

Anthropomorphic Bears and Bunnies Stand in for Humans in Paintings Commenting on Modern Life

“This is Fine”

Life is nothing without contrasts. Things can be sad, but they can also be funny. Someone can be sincere yet weave sarcasm into their response. Los Angeles-based artist Luke Chueh explores this type of duality—and contradictions—in his solo exhibition titled Making Light of the Darkness, now on view at Harman Projects in New York City.

Chueh has created a series of paintings with animals at the center of them; his characters are anthropomorphized bunnies and bears. Often singular in the compositions, these figures contend with existing in our modern world, the good and the bad.

Subtle emotion draws us into each piece, and Chueh is adept at saying a lot from a minimalist point of view. A character’s posture, for instance, is ripe for interpretation. In Strings Tied, the creature’s hands are shoved into a hoodie pocket, and the hood is cinched over its face. The figure wants to disappear, but also to be seen. Microexpressions in other paintings highlight emotions like joy with pangs of wistfulness. We know those looks, and the paintings, with their solid backdrops and animal ambassadors, are non-specific enough that we can place ourselves within the scenes.

Nothing better exemplifies the overarching concepts of Making Light of the Darkness than Chueh’s take on the iconic “This is fine” meme. The original features a two-panel comic, with one panel showing a smiling dog sitting at a table with a coffee mug as the room is engulfed in flames. In Chueh’s version, the dog has been replaced with a bear. But instead of smiling through it all, the bear sits expressionless, hands in its lap, simply staring ahead and waiting as everything around it burns. Like the inspiration, Chueh’s painting can be a relatable and poignant metaphor for life right now.

Making Light of the Darkness is currently on view at Harman Projects until September 6, 2025.