Shiao-Ping Wang was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States in 1981. She studied both Western art and Chinese art in New York and earned a MFA degree from Queens College, City University of New York. She works both abstractly and from observation in various painting media. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US and China. She has taught painting and drawing in various colleges including the University of New Hampshire. In 2007 Shiao-Ping won a Fellowship at Vermont Studio Center. In 2008 she won the Spotlight Award for Best Painter in the Seacoast.
“In patterns, I look for meanings outside of their conventional function as ornaments on an object or surface; for many patterns also served a dual purpose not only as decoration but also as symbols. But those interpretations have been lost through the ages.
Patterns of a constructive nature—architectural graphs, weaving patterns, and city maps—are sources for my composition. Once I have integrated them into my work, I then add more shapes and elements to each painting layer, using acrylic paint and medium, to gradually “build” a cohesive picture that features different degrees of translucency.”
In the physical process of painting, I follow more intuition than knowledge. I want to be in a place in my paintings where patterns are urgently needed on the emotional level so that narratives can be translated into repetitions and rhythms. In other words, I search for forms that have the power to replace anecdotes.
The expression of the work often comes from imagining something that has no physical presence, such as a sound, that resonates the theme in my mind. I follow the “something else” element until the urgency is eased. That’s when I know that the forms have satisfied my emotions and the ultimate meaning has emerged.”
