Ming Wang
Ming Wang is a painter and printmaker currently based in Jersey City. She received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts and an MFA from Columbia University. Ming's work is drawn from memory, emotion, and personal experience in urban and natural landscapes. She investigates scenes and objects encountered daily, searches for metaphor and meaning inside the mundane, and utilizes them to build psychological landscapes inhabited by imaginary characters.
Ming's work has been exhibited internationally, including at Chambers Gallery and LATITUDE Gallery in New York, Belenius in Stockholm, and Guan Shanyue Art Museum in China. In 2023, A/W Space presented her recent solo show in Nanjing, China.
Collect Bean: How does your painting process look like from start to finish?
Ming Wang: I usually start with a photo of a mundane but memorable scene. I think about the feelings when I took the photo or the sentiment associated with the photo (which comes later). Then, I make some small drawings called "thumbnails." From the "thumbnails," some images turn into paintings, and some turn into prints, depending on which media best describes the scenario I want the viewer to experience.
Collect Bean: Are there any recurring themes or motifs in your art, and if so, what do they represent to you?
Ming Wang: I like to use characters in my work. They are anchors that position myself and the viewer within the work. Sometimes, they are shadows, sometimes leaves, and sometimes spiders. I project emotion onto my protagonists and merge myself with them by observing the world from their perspective. In this way, I feel like I can transform into another creature(sometimes even objects) and resonate with them. This provides a sense of freedom—free from gravity and social identities that define everyone.
Collect Bean: How do you approach the balance between experimentation and consistency in your art?
Ming Wang: I experiment in the studio but selectively choose the work I plan to share with the audience. The result of a new experiment might not immediately be released to the world, but it might combine with the main body of work in the future.
Collect Bean: If you had to describe your work in only three words, what would they be?
Ming Wang: Mysterious, playful, sensitive.
Collect Bean: What is one of your current goals as an artist?
Ming Wang: I want to capture the essence of fleeting moments, creating unseen images or digging up the image that lies deep in unconsciousness. Whether it's the sensation of lying on summer grass, gazing at tree canopies; wandering through a city at night, watching the river flow; or recalling conversations on park benches—these scenes evoke a mix of déjà vu and dream-like unfamiliarity.
