Saturday June 14, 11:30am-12:30pm

Fee: $10

Limit: 25 participants

Location: Bayview, San Francisco.  (exact location will be emailed to registrants)

Ruby's is pleased to offer an opportunity to visit sculptor Wanxin Zhang's expansive studio in San Francisco. The program includes a short artist talk and time for questions.

Zhang's sculptures represent a marriage between historical references and a contemporary cultural context; they carry messages of social and political commentary. His work is deeply influenced by the Bay Area figurative movement and artists such as Peter Voulkos and Stephen De Staebler. Zhang's work has been exhibited widely and is included in many public and private collections nationally and overseas.

From Artist Statement:

Although I grew up during the nicely coined "New China," I actually lived through one of the most devastating periods of cultural destruction in modern history. When I visited the Terra Cotta Warriors of the Qin excavations, I immediately realized that the feudalism and oppression from the Qin dynasty have never quite left the country. The fundamentals of those concepts are still controlling the people in Mao's regime. Though the origins of my work grew from historical references, my pieces actually attempt to raise questions endured through time. My geographical and ideological personal journey formed the opinions that now question and explore the world today with humor, confusion, anxiety, and sarcasm.

After arriving in the United States many years ago, I was presented with an environment to voice my ideas and thoughts through my art. For a culture traveler like myself, this privilege is invaluable. In my new surroundings of Western religion, political systems, and the dynamic everyday life, not to mention the Bay Area funk art and figurative movement, I was in the perfect place to create my own version of reflective art.

It was during this time that I truly realized the challenge behind this attempt. Not only have I been able to constantly push the boundaries of what clay can express, I have also been able to really push myself to see how I can truly incorporate my purpose, inspirations, and critiques to reflect life. To reflect the limitless boundary of the contemporary social and political messages. Most importantly, I've been able to utilize clay to try to represent the spirit of humanity.

Artist Bio:

Wanxin Zhang was born in Changchun, China, and spent his formative years in the 1970s under Mao's regime. After the Cultural Revolution in 1976, he was part of the first generation of Chinese students to receive a formal art education. In 1985 he graduated from the LuXun Academy of Fine Art with a degree in sculpture. In 1992, after Zhang established his art career as a sculptor in China, he emigrated to the United States to continue his development and to study at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. In 2006, Zhang received a Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant and in 2004, he was awarded the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant.

This event is being facilitated by Catharine Clark Gallery. https://cclarkgallery.com/

Accessibility Information: Studio is located at ground level.

There is street parking nearby.  

Questions? Email workshop@rubysclaystudio.org

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