About Me | mysite

SHUWEN XU

徐抒文

Visual Artist/ Designer

Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, USA

Master of Landscape Architecture > 2018
History of Art and Visual Culture Certificate > 2018

Southeast University, Nanjing, China

Bachelor of Architecture > 2015

Knitting Workshop & Apparel Show > RISD TEXTILE & APPAREL > Jul - Aug 2018
Florist Certificate > JAMIE ASTON, London, UK > Jun, 2018
Online Exhibition > “Landscape”, photography > THE DORE COLLECTIVE > April 2018
Intern Editor > FAKE FESTIVAL > April 2018
Gaffer & Cinematographer > “Dream Game” (being edited), live action > 2018
Artist In Residence > Seiunkan Guest House, Nagano, Japan > July 2017
Artist In Residence & Solo Exhibition > Studio Kura, Fukuoka, Japan > Jun 2017
Graduate Exhibition > RISD LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE > 2017
Co-organizer & Host > online seminar > “Conditionality In Art — No Change, No Perceptual Consciousness” > 2017
Co-host > artistic salon > “The Revolution of Modern City And Its Visualization” > T+H Gallery, Boston, MA > 2016
Photo Workshop & Collective Exhibition > RISD PHOTO > Berlin, Germany > 2016
Main Designer & Construction Participator > “Sub-canopy”, installation > Tillinghast Farm, Barrington, RI > 2015
Intern Architect > Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Design Co., Shanghai, China > 2015
Intern Architect > Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Design Co., Shanghai, China > 2014
Architectural Assistant > Southeast University > cartographic survey of traditional architecture in Taizhou, China > Oct 2013

Besides my spatial design background (architecture & landscape), I have a stronger obsession with fine art, including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, installation, performance, film, video, ceramics, textile, apparel, calligraphy, art theory and history. Also interested in books and texts.

FEATURED PROJECTS

“Landscape”, photography > Online Exhibition > THE DORE COLLECTIVE > 2018
“Twilight Revelation” > Thesis & Graduate Exhibition > RISD LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE > 2017
“Conditional Art in Landscape/ Installation/ Performance — from The Works of Robert Irwin” > published online (Chinese edition) by Conversazione > 2017
“Nowhere”, photography > compiled in “RISD Photo in Berlin — A Collection of Student Work from Berlin: Through Your Lens” > RISD Photo > 2016
“Given to Sensation, Given to Nature — Design Principle Studio of RISD Landscape Department” > compiled in “Beyond Studio — Architectural Design Method of Prestigious Universities Abroad”, edited by Jiandao Design, published by China Machine Press > 2016
“Nanning Terminal Design” > compiled in “Exploration Of Terminal Design — Challenges And Innovation of Large-span Architectures” > 2015
Section of “Plan Arrangement” > compiled in “Traditional Dwelling Planning of Nanjing Historical District”, for Nanjing Planning Bureau > 2013
“Cartographic Survey of Heishi House and Subei Headquarters Site” > compiled in “Preservation and Protection of Taizhou Historical Architecture”, for Taizhou Preservation Bureau > 2013

Experiences (not a formal artist statement):

I started to express interest in art from my early childhood. I learned simple drawings and Chinese traditional calligraphy during my primary school, began shooting photos and got a better camera from my father later -- compared to skills, I felt they had deeper impacts on my character and affection to art -- especially the study of calligraphy which influenced my aesthetics, giving me a sensitive eye on eastern subtlety and basic understanding about abstraction.

While in the middle and senior high school, I spent numerous time on science study (which I liked as well), forced to learn piano (which I didn’t like at all), and thus stopped the study of art and calligraphy. I could only draw some small sketches or cartoons in my spare time. Also, it seemed that the replacement of film photos by digital ones took away almost all my interests in photography (though I’m not quite sure why). However, I think I have never forgot my affection to art, because eventually, I chose architecture as my major in university since it was the only major that science students could choose that had art curriculum. (I almost became a biological scientist. The study of science definitely enhanced my logical thoughts and the habit to think of objects’ nature or abstract relationship behind appearance.)

I have to say, the study of architecture in university brought me both hopes and tortures -- it led me to a new world with art and literature (I hated liberal art before university), meanwhile the architectural study occupied almost all my time so I couldn't dig into the new world. At that time, I had the first formal study of art in school which began from pen drawings, learned gouache and pencil sketch during my summer vacations, and kept being nurtured by artistic, liberal art, and literature books in the library and book stores. Also, I continued the practice of Chinese calligraphy and read a lot about Chinese traditional art — maybe I couldn't compete on skills with students majored in art, but my passion and artistic sensitivity never receded.

Although I had some friends interested in art as well, most people around me were much more practical, therefore I felt I lack communications extremely and became more and more social withdrawn. I had an internship in Shanghai in the senior year which was a “vacuum” for me — I couldn’t remember what I did and how I spent that period of time. My longing for communication and “really doing things” intensified. Struggling with others' opposition, I determined to followed my heart and chose RISD to continue my education, because I wanted to be immersed in art atmosphere totally. I grabbed opportunities like elective courses, summer program, Art History Concentration, lectures, discussion, exhibition, and kept working in diverse art fields, trying to pursue my inner self and look for the best medium to express it. What I have worked with during these two years included landscape design, drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramic, installation, film photography, Bolex film, performance, calligraphy, art history and theory.

I really appreciated the mutual influence from different fields of art; also the theoretical thoughts and art practice always inspires each other and help to go deeper for both of them; additionally, literature, music, circumstances around me, and my own illusions sometimes become the source of inspiration.

This summer, I will stay in Japan for two months (June: Studio Kura, 586 Nijōmasue, Itoshima-shi, Fukuoka-ken 819-1613, Japan; July: SEIUNKAN Art in Residence (SAIR), 3368 Shigenokou, Komoro city, Nagano 384-0809, Japan). I like Japanese literature, art, and its special aesthetics a lot, curious about the Japanese countryside, the nature, and their lifestyle. I plan to explore the media of painting, photo, and video to document the life during that time (I will re-use digital photo and video to see how they work differently from film cameras, the way they influence my feeling and work’s expression — I hope I could ), and represent the resonation between the circumstance and my inner self.

Inclination:

Painting & drawing: I like to draw from real life — still-life mostly, and sometimes people. However, the results are hardly realistic. I don’t like to add too much “concept” to my paintings, which I think is a process by mind; instead, I believe my eyes and subconscious. I like to draw objects, or people as objects — the subject seems very objective and even dull, but I appreciate the subtle beauty in it and sometimes my own affection are attached. I’m immersed in my own emotion easily, feeling the outer world and events irrelevant to me. When I paint objects, they seem connected with me and I’m conveying myself through them.
Photo & film: I am quite interested in the comparison between photography and painting (film and digital photography as well) — their different inherent properties make people use them differently and things are conveyed differently. Camera is a magic machine with distinctive properties compared to traditional art media. That’s why I am now most interested in the theory of photography. At present, I’m shooting short films to explore images with the dimension of time, and how this medium works differently from photo. The feeling of conveying myself through the media is similar with painting, while the process and result are definitely different, but I cannot tell very clearly yet.
About abstraction: I feel that eastern aesthetics has an inner sense of abstraction (like Chinese calligraphy and traditional painting, architecture, gardens, and even literature). For me, poetic, reserved, and implicit expression is preferred rather than straight-narrative, bold and dramatic form which might be more popular in the West.
Background of architecture: Although there were some unpleasant experiences with architectural study, I have to admit that it enabled me the sense of space and analytical thoughts, which impacted both my art practice and theory study.