Born in Jilin Province, China in 1966. Huang studied at the Changchun Normal Academy and moved to Beijing in 1987.
He combines painting, photography, and sculpture to explore modes of narrative and landscape, as well as other traditional forms of artistic representation in contemporary China. Huang melds historical Chinese culture with new art forms, alluding to the body and performance art of the Chinese avant-garde.
He has exhibited his work in London, Chicago, New York, Beijing, Milan, Berne, Hong Kong, and other sites around the world, and currently lives and works in Beijing. In 2011, his photographs were included in a survey of contemporary world photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This work was acquired by the museum for its permanent collection.