{"id":1745,"date":"2025-09-15T20:15:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/?p=1745"},"modified":"2025-09-16T16:00:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T16:00:09","slug":"fragments-of-the-chinese-diaspora-converge-in-stephanie-shihs-mosaic-sculptures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/15\/fragments-of-the-chinese-diaspora-converge-in-stephanie-shihs-mosaic-sculptures\/","title":{"rendered":"Fragments of the Chinese Diaspora Converge in Stephanie Shih\u2019s Mosaic Sculptures"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fragments<\/p>\n

Known for trompe l\u2019oeil ceramic sculptures of pantry staples and domestic life, Stephanie Shih<\/a> has further entrenched her largely culinary-focused repertoire in material culture. In two exhibitions, the Brooklyn-based artist (previously<\/a>) embraces mosaic as she nests small glass fragments and pottery sherds into vivid compositions that explore production and labor. <\/p>\n

Shih\u2019s architectural work on view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center<\/a> in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, draws on the Midwestern grotto tradition with a pagoda-style structure. Broken porcelain dinnerware, polished stone, and ceramic sherds uncovered in a Chinese fishing village on Monterey Bay cloak the facade, while hundreds of crowd-sourced knick-knacks and figures embellish the rooftop. <\/p>\n

Titled \u201cToy Building (1915\u20131939),\u201d the six-story sculpture reinterprets a historic spot in downtown Milwaukee that a Chinese immigrant owned and once housed a dancehall, restaurant, and various businesses. A collective portrait of the Chinese diaspora, Shih\u2019s work pieces together archaeological, vintage, and contemporary objects into an eclectic array that bridges the mundane and divine.<\/p>\n

\"a
Detail of \u201cCarolina\u2019s Pride Peaches\u201d (2025), stained glass and cement mortar on aluminum, 18 x 48 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The artist continues her more recent venture into mosaic in Invisible Hand<\/em>, a solo exhibition opening this week at SOCO Gallery<\/a>. A wide, produce promotional in colorful stained glass, \u201cCarolina\u2019s Pride Peaches\u201d depicts a woman marveling at the ripe fruit. As a statement from the gallery says, Shih directs us to consumption, portraying the luscious commodity once it\u2019s been harvested by an unacknowledged laborer. <\/p>\n

Invisible Hand <\/em>pairs the vintage-style advertisement with the artist\u2019s ceramic fare. Included are typical grocery store finds like a carton of Tropicana and Smucker\u2019s jelly, along with popular fast food remnants like a box from Kentucky Fried Chicken. The seemingly mundane nature of the objects lends itself to one of the artist\u2019s enduring questions: who\u2019s behind the conveniences and sustenance we\u2019ve come to expect and rely on? <\/p>\n

As conversations about immigration and labor take center stage, Shih\u2019s work reflects the long history of U.S. policy targeting essential workers. She references the Chinese Exclusion Act<\/a> of 1882, which barred Chinese immigration for 10 years and largely targeted those who would occupy low-wage jobs. \u201cThis act set the stage for a broader pattern of racialized labor exploitation that continues to shape the U.S.\u2019s immigration and labor policies today,\u201d the artist adds. <\/p>\n

Invisible Hand<\/em> runs from September 18 to November 8 in Charlotte. If you\u2019re in Sheboygan, you can see \u201cToy Building (1915\u20131939)\u201d as part of A Beautiful Experience: The Midwest Grotto Tradition<\/em> through May 10, 2026. Explore more of the artist\u2019s work on her website<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a
A collection of works from \u2018Invisible Hand\u2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cCarolina\u2019s Pride Peaches\u201d (2025), stained glass and cement mortar on aluminum, 18 x 48 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Detail of \u201cCarolina\u2019s Pride Peaches\u201d (2025), stained glass and cement mortar on aluminum, 18 x 48 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Detail of \u201cToy Building (1915\u20131939)\u201d (2025), Chinese export porcelain, crowdsourced and found objects, archaeological ceramic fragments from a Chinese fishing village on Monterey Bay (c. 1850\u20131906), stained glass, ceramic, polished stones, glass rods, resin, enamel, and grout on ferrocement, steel, and polystyrene. Image courtesy of the artist and John Michael Kohler Arts Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cKentucky Fried Chicken\u201d (2025), ceramic, 9 x 9 x 7 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cWhitman\u2019s Sampler\u201d (2025), ceramic, 2.5 x 9 x 5.5 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"six
\u201cCampbell\u2019s Condensed Soups\u201d (2025), ceramic, 12 x 10.5 x 3 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"three
\u201cMcCormick Spices\u201d (2025), ceramic, 5 x 9 x 1.5 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Fragments of the Chinese Diaspora Converge in Stephanie Shih\u2019s Mosaic Sculptures<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Known for trompe l\u2019oeil ceramic sculptures of pantry staples and domestic life, Stephanie Shih has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1745"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1758,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745\/revisions\/1758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}