Melissa Wang

San Francisco, California

My abstract artworks are visual speculations of life throughout the cosmos. I scrape through paint to reveal light-and-dark layers; bright gold shapes hint at indeterminate horizons. These process-driven compositions explore the ontology of consciousness, offering a dialectic between “wonder and estrangement” (Chen Xiufan). Holding in tension our hopes and fears, who do we become in this vast, chaotic and ever-changing universe?

I am a self-taught artist. I researched science-fiction literature as a PhD candidate at UC Davis, California, before segueing into tech. In late 2019, I began full-time art-making as a means of inspiring social and ecological liberation. Since then, I have exhibited nationally at the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, IL; Torrance Art Museum in Los Angeles, CA; and the de Young Museum in San Francisco, CA with a solo exhibition at Root Division (Frank-Ratchye space). My work can be found in corporate collections, including Facebook in Menlo Park, CA. I am an artist resident at Root Division in San Francisco, CA.

10th Anniversary Message:

Ten years ago, I was accepted into a rigorous PhD program that enabled me to lean into my love for literature and grow confidence as an aspiring professor and thought leader. I was blessed to encounter wonderful mentors who taught me how to be a better scholar and more importantly, human being. Now that I am an artist, I hope to keep growing and support my community as others have helped me.