January 5 – February 24, 2024
Gallery Reception: Friday, February 2 from 6-9 pm, Artist Talk at 7 pm
Tian Han Chinese New Year Printmaking Workshop with Xia Gao: Saturday, February 3 at 12 pm
Xia Gao is an artist and Chinese immigrant, living in Okemos, Michigan and teaching at Michigan State University. Gao’s work is informed by her migration to the United States and the adaptation and discoveries of assimilating in a new culture while experiencing the changes of her native land from afar. The work selected for this exhibit spans varied periods of her life and expresses the connectedness and disconnectedness she experiences to Chinese traditional culture, much of which can be understood through the masterworks presented in the recent Cleveland Museum of Art exhibition,” China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta,” which brings Jiangnan’s historical artistic production and cultural impact to the West. As Xia Gao says, “I intend to present issues, styles, and concerns from a transnational perspective that reveals contemporary life and the fantasy of a paradise that cannot return.”
Xia Gao Bio
www.xiagao.org
Xia Gao received her MFA in Textile Art & Design from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Gao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Art History & Design at Michigan State University. Before joining MSU, she was a faculty member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Donghua University in Shanghai, China. Gao has also guest lectured and presented at diverse academic and conference venues.
She has exhibited widely in numerous juried group exhibitions and solo shows nationally and internationally. Her works have been included in influential Fibers/Textile art venues, like “Everyone to the Table-Miniartextil 2015” at Arte&Arte in Como, Italy; “Love Lace” international competition and exhibition at Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia; “Triennal OFF” –7th International Triennial of Contemporary Textile Arts of Tournai in Belgium; “6th World Textile Art Biennial-Air” at Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City Mexico, and many other national/international mixed-media exhibitions at reputable art centers and museums. She is the recipient of several nationally/internationally juried exhibition awards. Her artwork appears in books, catalogs, and major periodicals for fiber/textile arts.
Gao’s work has been supported by competitive fellowships and awards from universities and foundations, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Michigan State University, the Pritzker Foundation, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Vermont Studio Center, ARNA Artist Residency (Sweden), Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the I-Park Foundation, among others. Her creative work is informed by her travel, artist residency experience, and transcultural perspective.
“Settling/Unsettling, Daydream of Jiangnan” will be open through February 24th during regular gallery hours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 12pm-4pm, and by appointment on weekdays. To request an appointment, email gallery@waterlooarts.org or call 216.692.9500.
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