Capsule Shanghai is pleased to present Alice Wang's second solo exhibition with the gallery of new sculptures, photographs, and the second installment of the infinite film series Pyramids and Parabolas, which the artist began working on since 2017.
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Over the past several years, Alice Wang has been working with the mantra that the Earth is plummeting towards the Sun while just missing it. The facts in this statement describe both our lived reality and an apocalyptic miracle conjured by the imagination.
Bringing together physics, geology, astronomy, and ecology with phenomenology, Eastern metaphysics, and the practice of meditation and yoga, Wang examines ontological questions related to the nature of being through a materialist conceptual approach in the exploration of sculpture — a medium apt for metaphysical inquiries.
Through research and visits to geological and ancient sites as well as technological facilities — the Denali National Park in Alaska, the Tibetan plateau, the San Andreas Fault line, the Arctic Circle, SpaceX, Biosphere2, and the Mayan Pyramids, Wang investigates the uncanny dimensions of the natural world.
Using sensitive plants, moss, fossils, meteorites, metals, water vapor, heat, wind, beeswax, and other metamorphic substances, her work explores the material consciousness of sculptural forms. From the cosmic to the geologic to the molecular, matter — like relic radiation leftover from the Big Bang, corpses of prehistoric organisms that turned to stone, or wax secreted from the glandular abdomens of bees — reveal certain underlying forces in nature.
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Sculpture is a time-based medium whose form not only unfolds in time, but in Wang's work, it also embodies a temporality through its material constitution. Working with byproducts of the metabolic process of the universe, forms shape-shift and time travel within different timescales. The physical boundaries of the work are not limited to its visible dimensions.
Wang combines scientific, technological, mythical, and spiritual perspectives to see how matter can be understood to embody existential qualities. Wang chooses materials that convey the sentient universe through sensual, tactile, and metaphoric means, and imagines how the nature of reality can be expressed through the language of sculpture and film.
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The four photos in the exhibition are photograms of objects (ulexite, Iceland spar, prism) that produce optical effects — refracting or polarizing light, either through their crystalline structures or based on their shapes. These bodies of light were originally captured on wet-plate collodion surfaces, which were then transferred to silver gelatin prints.
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Pyramids and Parabolas II
2021 | HD video and 16mm transferred to HD video HD视频及16mm胶片转为HD视频 | 18'45" | Edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofsPyramids and Parabolas II is the second installment of an infinite film series Wang began in 2017, which explores our relationship to the natural world by examining how we communicate with the unknown universe through geometric structures.
The idea of an infinite film series allows each episode to take on a looseness and autonomy in order to experiment freely with the serial form. From collage, to essayist, to abstract, each installment of the series assumes a different genre, which can be independent of the others — while at the same time, the episodes all-together form a total work of art with a common theme and interconnected narrative threads. As the series unfolds, Pyramids and Parabolas will shape shift and take on a life of its own. New ideas and formal experiments may emerge from the openness of the film form that is not predetermined.
The first episode established the groundwork for the dialectic between the pyramidal structure of ancient monolithic architecture and the parabolic shape of modern radio telescopes. Featuring found dash-cam footage of the apocalyptic fireball that came crashing down from outer space into Chelyabinsk, Russia, Pyramids and Parabolas started with a bang that signaled our precarity in the cosmos as a vulnerable planet amidst powerful natural forces. Our relationship to nature is not just what is on Earth; we live in a nature that is largely inhospitable to humans and other living organisms.
Calling attention to the body in order to foreground the experiential aspects of the film, the second episode of Pyramids and Parabolas begins with a three-minute body scan meditation in the dark. Followed by a quote from the Three Body Problem, “Three days from now, between three and five in the morning, the entire universe will flicker for you” — which acts almost like a spell, the film is a travelogue of the artist journeying through surreal and sublime landscapes in nature. Bookended by the building of a NASA JOVE radio telescope in Twentynine Palms, California, the collage film is the artist’s quest to touch the cosmos and connect with the universe through flesh.
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More About the artist
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Alice Wang on Contemporary Art Daily
May 5, 2021 -
Art Basel | China: six must-see exhibitions
March 30, 2021Chinese artists are placed center stage in shows across Beijing and Shanghai. For their first exhibitions following the Lunar New Year, galleries in Beijing and Shanghai are shining the spotlight... -
Artforum | Alice Wang
March 31, 2021本科毕业于计算机科学和国际关系专业的王凝慧曾经在采访中戏谑地自称'科学极客'(science geek)。她的展览大多以自己的名字命名,而作品则往往只叫'无题'。她曾经罗列化学元素周期表,用以抵充展览介绍文字;而在此次胶囊上海的个展'王凝慧 Alice Wang'上,艺术家故技重施,在新闻稿上如同传统相声'报菜名'那般,一口气播报着:热能、电磁能、太阳能、大气、棱镜、克鲁克斯辐射计、气生植物、等角栅格、玻璃珠、黄铜、金、不锈钢、陶瓷、铁陨石、侏罗纪时期的波状化石、湿版火棉胶摄影印于镜面、明胶银盐照片…… 这份来自科学的关键词清单,多少显得有些冗长。它大致勾勒出展厅内作品的'相关物',包括地形学、地质学、热动力学,却并未清晰地说明这些作品本身究竟是什么。这几乎是所有'科学极客'艺术家固有的路径依赖,王凝慧也不例外。即便相关物的主题各有不同,然而连接艺术与科学的方法论总是大致相似的--模拟。当观众看到高脚桌上平铺的等角网格的粉红色丝网、摆放整齐的白金三角瓷片、堆叠成火山口形状的微型玻璃珠,以及点缀其间的绿色植物时,似乎总能够轻而易举就把它视为地形沙盘模型。可是,它究竟意味着什么?仅仅依靠感官直观,似乎完全无从感知。 坦言之,那张桌子上置放的物件仅仅是艺术,科学不过是为艺术赋形的某种叙事线索,它并不可见,亦不可感,但为可见可感的艺术体验暗中呈供着合理性证据。或者也可以说,艺术模拟出科学的外在现象,由此产生相关性。所谓模拟,更像是便利店里销售的利乐包装咖啡饮料--人们以为它是咖啡,可包装上注明的品类赫然写着'咖啡味饮料'。 近年来,随着布鲁诺·拉图尔(Bruno Latour)、唐娜·哈拉维(Donna Haraway)等人的理论配方在当代艺术领域走俏,后人类、非人类、政治生态学等大量学术添加剂被用于调制'科学味艺术'。如今,只要经常参观美术馆与画廊,就不难发现这类艺术的产量骤增,在展览市场的占有率也日渐增大。即便如此,在众多同类作品中,王凝慧的创作依然具有很高的辨识度。她几乎从未在作品中直接呈现硬核的科学原理,而是将技术话语转译为视觉形象,用人工手段模拟非人类现实,并赋予它冷抒情的美学特征--冷静、克制,同时散发着金属质感的坚硬与植物质感的轻柔。 至于如何看懂,正如无须追问咖啡味饮料究竟是不是咖啡,纵然对王凝慧作品里暗藏的科学原理一无所知也无妨,它们本就是两种只存在相关性的不同事物。看透是科学提出的要求,'看'才是艺术。 © Artforum -
Alice Wang
2 September - 18 October 2017Capsule Shanghai is pleased to present Alice Wang's first solo exhibition in China, opening on September 2, 2017. Organized in collaboration with the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai -
Alice Wang | The Magic Hour #1
2018.03.17 - 04.22The Magic Hour is a metal structure that frames artworks, objects, ephemera, and gestures, on a mesa in Twentynine Palms, California. The structure will hold artworks, objects, actions, and ephemera... -
Alice Wang | The Magic Hour # 2
2018.06.2 - 07.22 June 2, 2018The second iteration of The Magic Hour, organized by Alice Wang and Ben Tong, opens to the public on Saturday, June 2 2018, at 3 pm. The structure is open... -
Alice Wang | The Magic Hour # 3
2018.09.29 - 12.02 September 29, 2018The third iteration of The Magic Hour, organized by Alice Wang and Ben Tong, opens to the public on Saturday, September 29, 2018, at 2:30 pm. Featured artists: Julia Tcharfas... -
Alice Wang | The Magic Hour # 4
2019.01.19 - 04.24 January 19, 2019The fourth iteration of The Magic Hour, organized by Alice Wang and Ben Tong and featuring a new project by Charles Long, with Phana Phang opens to the public on... -
Alice Wang | The Magic Hour # 5
2019.09.28The Magic Hour No. 5 Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 3pm - 8:30pm (a one day event) On a mesa in the Mojave desert, 2000 ft. above sea level -... -
Alice Wang | Slippery Contours
A. J. Samuels gets lost in the changing forms of different philosophies, and finds herself again with the work of Alice Wang, for the Monday Pick. Alice sometimes disappears like... -
Untitled with Alice Wang - A conversation between Alice Wang and David Bell
April 25, 2017The original interview was published on April 25th, 2017 on Notes on Looking, an online creative writing platform for the Los Angeles art community. David Bell: Your latest show at... -
Alice Wang: Hurtling Towards the Art World
October 5, 2017Since beginning to exhibit her work, Alice Wang only has one name for her exhibitions: The Earth Is Plummeting Towards The Sun While Just Missing It. 'Why is this the... -
ArtWorld Exhibition Review | Alice Wang: Untitled
October 12, 2017“Alice Wang,” the first solo exhibition in China for artist Alice Wang (b. 1983 in Xi’an, China; lives and works in Los Angeles, USA) held at Capsule Shanghai, brings together... -
Alice Wang | Variable meaning within an unchanging cycle
October 10, 2017The recent solo exhibition of Alice Wang at Capsule Shanghai is influenced by the works of process artists, such as Cuban minimalist Felix Gonzalez-Torres, who was known for a keen... -
Artco China Exhibition Review | Alice Wang
October 1, 2017LA-based Chinese Canadian artist Alice Wang is currently exhibiting in a solo show at Capsule Shanghai. As usual, she uses only her name as the title of the exhibition. All... -
ESSE REVIEW | ALICE WANG
October 20, 2017The first thing one notices about Alice Wang’s exhibition at CAPSULE is the way her work subtly incorporates the space. The gallery—a combination exhibition space and art laboratory—occupies a lush... -
OCULA | Alice Wang
October 18, 2017Alice Wang’s exhibition “Alice Wang” at Capsule Shanghai includes the artist’s recent sculptural works - Untitled (2017), Untitled (2017), and Untitled (2017). The sculptures are best recognised for the materials... -
Art Review Asia | Alice Wang in Preview
September 15, 2017'Alice Wang [..] is the subject of a solo exhibition at Cpasule Shanghai. A typical work by the Chinese Canadian (in this case Untitled, 2016) could include beeswax, silver, wind... -
ALICE WANG | "If We Had Radio Antennas for Ears" AT THE HAMMER MUSEUM
2019.6.25 June 20, 2019Alice Wang presents If We Had Radio Antennas for Ears, a listening performance that employs soundscape captured from outer space to construct a sense of being associated with cosmic gas,... -
Alice Wang and Ben Tong | 'The Zone' at Practice NY
2019.06.30 - 07.31 July 3, 2019Capsule Shanghai is pleased to announce 'The Zone', a collaborative project between Alice Wang and Ben Tong in conjunction to their residency at PRACTICE NY. Cosmos, phlox, milkweed, bananas, oranges,... -
Alice Wang | Fun Palace | OCT-LOFT Creative Festival
2019.12.7-2020.2.29Capsule Shanghai is pleased to announce Alice Wang's participation in the group show Fun Palace during OCT-LOFT Creative Festival, curated by Bruce Ding. Dates: December 7, 2019 to February 29,... -
Alice Wang | Solo Show at Garden
2020.02.01 - 03.28Alice Wang's solo exhibition is on view at Garden. A single untitled sculpture dominating the space constitutes the exhibition: a large, chest-height table. On this table, the viewer is confronted... -
Alice Wang | "The New (Sur)Realism" at Open Circle Moscow
2020.09.12 - 10.25 September 16, 2020We are pleased to announce our participation to Open Circle initiative, the first gallery-sharing initiative in Russia, with Alice Wang. The project runs from September 12 to October 25, 2020.... -
Alice Wang | New Artist Book: An Atlas of Outer Space
2019.03To accompany Alice's solo exhibition at Visitor Welcome Center, her new book, Alice Wang: An Atlas of Outer Space, published by Sming Sming Books, will launch at Printed Matter’s LA... -
Alice Wang|Glow Like That
2019.03.27 - 05.13Capsule Shanghai is pleased to announce Alice Wang‘s participation in the group show Glow Like That at K11. Dates:March 27 to May 13, 2019 Venue:21/F, K11 Atelier, Hong Kong -
Alice Wang|Solo Exhibition at Visitor Welcome Center
2019.03.16 - 04.20Capsule Shanghai is pleased to announce Alice Wang's solo exhibition at Visitor Welcome Center. For the occasion, her artist book An Atlas of Outer Space, featuring an essay by Anna... -
Alice Wang|Tracing the Mushroom at the End of the World
2019.03.16 - 05.19Capsule Shanghai is pleased to announce Alice Wang's participation in the group show Tracing the Mushroom at the End of the World at Taikang Space. Dates: March 16 to May... -
Alice Wang | "and I'll have a pepper-shaker in my cave, so laugh."
2019.02.12 - 03.30 February 12, 2019Capsule Shanghai is pleased to announce Alice Wang's participation in the group show 'and I'll have a pepper-shaker in my cave, so laugh.' at ltd los angeles, curated with Kate... -
Alice Wang, Qin Jin, Chen Dandizi | InnerScapes
2018.12.08 - 2019.03.03We are pleased to announce Alice Wang, Qin Jin, Chen Dandizi's participation in the group show curated by Manuela Lietti, 'InnerScapes' at Galleria Continua in Beijing. CONVERSATION|InnerScapes TIME|2018.12.08 3PM-4PM SPECIAL... -
Alice Wang | The Angel’s Share
2018.09.07 - 10.09Capsule Shanghai is pleased to announce Alice Wang's participation in the group show The Angel's Share at FLAX Project, LA, opening on September 7th and lasting until October 9th. -
Alice Wang | Group Show Emerald City
2018.03.28 - 04.22Alice Wang participates to the group exhibition Emerald City at K11 Art Foundation. Date: 28.03.2018 – 22.04.2018 Time: 11am – 7pm Venue: K11 Art Foundation Pop-up Space, 33 Wing Lok... -
Alice Wang, Feng Chen, Gao Yuan | Art Basel Hong Kong 2018 Film Sector
2018.03.28 - 03.31We are pleased to announce the screening of three videos by our artists during Art Basel Hong Kong 2018 in the Short Film Program curated by Li Zhenhua. Screening Schedule:... -
Practice and Alice Wang | Joint Book Launch
2018.02.04Capsule Shanghai is pleased to annouce the joint book launch of n_on::s-e.ns/ic-al;;'s latest issue (truth) and PRACTICE's first publication PRACTICE x Wind at Ooga Booga. The launch will take place... -
Alice Wang|Group Exhibition: A Curious Herbal
2018.01.19 - 03.03Capsule Shanghai is pleased to announce Alice Wang participates in A Curious Herbal - a group exhibition bringing together six artists considering the intersection between the still life and scientific... -
Alice Wang | Artist Book Launch
2017.10.15 October 13, 2017BOOK LAUNCH: October 15th, 2017 (Sunday) Venue: Modern Art Base (MAB), 1/F, Building 2, Bridge 8, 10 Middle Jianguo Rd,Huangpu District (near South Chongqing Rd) Time: 2:30 pm -... -
Alice Wang | Artist Talk
2017.10.07ARTIST TALK: Li Gang and Alice Wang: Material Metamorphosis Date: Saturday, October 7, 2017, 2 to 4 pm Venue: Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Jiuxianqiao Rd. 4, 798 Art... -
Alice Wang | Shanghai Project Talk Series
2017.07.30[Shanghai Project Talk Series] 'The Earth Is Plummeting Towards The Sun While Just Missing It' Join Alice Wang on Sunday, July 30 at 2pm for a talk and screening at... -
Alice Wang and Feng Chen | “出神入化”: A Conversation on Consciousness
2016.11.06Guests: Alice Wang, Feng Chen Moderator: Bruce Bo Ding Time: 2016.11.06 15:30-17:00 Language: Chinese + English Organiser: Chronus Art Center Supporter: Capsule Shanghai Is it possible for technology to embody... -
Alice Wang | The Whales Took You - Group show at PØST, LA
2016.10.08 - 10.29PØST is pleased to present the group exhibition The Whales Took You co-curated by Shagha Ariannia and HK Zamani, in the intersection of dream and not dream, chance and not... -
Alice Wang | 'Open Air Prisons' at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE)
2016.09.13 - 11.06 October 13, 2016Alice Wang is taking part to the show Open Air Prisons at LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions), curated by Kelman Duran. From the cosmic to the microbial to the geological,... -
Alice Wang | 'The First Horizons of Juno' at MASS gallery in Austin (TX, USA)
2016.09.16 - 10.22 September 16, 2016Alice Wang is participating to the group show The First Horizons of Juno at MASS gallery in Austin (TX, USA) The First Horizons of Juno is a thought-experiment in aesthetics...
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