As a Chinese artist living in America, I am interested in a cultural phenomenon which I define as “cultural grafting.” It is the transplant of false cultural norms onto another culture. My most recent work explores industrially produced items that are assumed to be Chinese but are actually American-made interpretations of a misrepresented culture. Examples of this are found in American- Chinese food as General Tso’s Chicken and fortune cookies, as well as takeout containers.
I use ceramics as a medium to comment on how Western cultures have imitated Chinese traditional decorative art for many centuries. Even to this day modern Chinese immigrants use their traditional culture to attract Western society. My work is a form of contemporary “chinoserie” used to bring attention to this historical and cultural phenomenon.
Artist Biography
Han Wang is a Chinese artist who is living in Philadelphia, PA. She received her BFA degree at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in China in 2013, and received her MFA degree at the University of the Arts in the U.S. in 2016. She chooses to be an outsider in America to use her surroundings as inspiration for her art.
Prior to her move to the U.S., she focused on making sculptures and learning about public art. Since her relocation, Han Wang has been involved in several exhibitions in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York, showcasing her work with fellow artists. In 2015, she began working with The Clay Studio in Philadelphia to expand her knowledge through an apprenticeship with Julie Moon. Wang worked as a teaching assistant at The University of the Arts helping instructor to prepare studio equipment and assisting students with ceramic techniques in 2016. In the beginning of 2017, she was invited as an artist in residence at The University of the Arts to continue her artistic creation. Today, Wang is working on ceramics and sculpture as an independent artist running her artistic practice, which embodies the cultural phenomenon she named “cultural grafting”. Through combining traditional and contemporary ceramic techniques, Wang’s work uses food as her main subject. Her work explores the history of other cultures while using Chinese techniques.
Education
2016 The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA MFA in Studio Art
2015-2016 Santa Reparata International School of Art, Florence, Italy
Study Abroad, Book Art & Print-making
2013 Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou, China BFA in Sculpture
Exhibitions
Solo
2018 Han Wang Solo Exhibition, Boku Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Group
2018 UNDER CONSTRUCTION, Jedidiah Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
China Pop: Contemporary Year of the Dog, The Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE
2017 215|610 Contemporary Juried Exhibition 2017, Art Gallery| Room 2305, Media, PA
SABA III, The Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE
Anachronism and Liberation, Tiger Strikes Asteroid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
College Collective 2017, Flower City Arts Center, Rochester, NY
8th Annual Art Unleashed Exhibition & Sale, Hamilton Hall, Philadelphia, PA
2016 MFA Studio Art 2016 Thesis Exhibition, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
215|610 Contemporary Juried Exhibition 2016, Art Gallery| Room 2305, Media, PA
Linked, Gallery 128, Philadelphia, PA
2016 Works in Progress Exhibition, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Summer Show, Marginal Utility Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Let’s Do This Together, Levitt Foyer, Philadelphia, PA
MFA Studio Art/ MFA Book Arts + Printmaking Italy Exhibition, Gallery 224, Philadelphia, PA
7th Annual Art Unleashed Exhibition & Sale, Hamilton Hall, Philadelphia, PA
2015 2015 MFA Studio Art Works in Progress Exhibition, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Points of Obstruction, Gallery 224, Philadelphia, PA
Young Chinese Artists in America, Gatov East, Los Angeles, CA
6th Annual Art Unleashed Exhibition & Sale, Hamilton Hall, Philadelphia, PA
Study Abroad: Florence, President’s Office Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2014 The 2014 Works in Progress Exhibition, Hamilton & Arronson Galleries, Philadelphia, PA
