SHIYUAN XU
SHERRY LEEDY CONTEMPORARY ART
SHERRY LEEDY CONTEMPORARY ART 2004 Baltimore Ave. Kansas City, MO 64108 816.221.2626 sherryleedy.com Catalog design Allison King
“Slowed Growth takes place during the pandemic. Everything is slowed down during this time, from a country’s economy to individual’s daily activity. Yet, the natural world keeps going, slow and steady. Slowed Growth references the evolving motion of the living organisms, and it also references my making process, bit by bit, layer by layer, and one firing after another to complete a single object. It is time consuming but therapeutic. “ -Shiyuan Xu
SHIYUAN XU: Slowed Growth November 6, 2020 - January 23, 2021
Shiyuan Xu’s fantastic sculptures, hand-built with porcelain paperclay, are inspired by scientific research into microscopic phenomena. These phenomena range from single-celled organisms in the ocean to diverse plant seeds on land, to cells that are the building blocks of all life. She sees the structure of these micro life forms as having been determined by growth and response to internal and external forces, leaving a record of movement in time and space. Shiyuan’s forms are built by hand and glazed in an unconventional way. The materials she uses allow her to push the boundaries of fragility and strength, simplicity and complexity, order and chaos. She meticulously weaves thin skeletal lines into a harmonious volume. Shiyuan says of this process, “The regular and irregular structures and layers also contain the memory of my sensations. They are in many ways like living organisms, reflections of my own life path, and an abstraction of the complexity and delicacy of life itself.” Shiyuan Xu is currently an Artist in Residence at the Lilstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL. She holds an MFA from Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ and a BA from the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, P.R. China. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT; Korea Ceramic Foundation, Incheon, South Korea; San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX and The National Museum of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Vena #4 2019 Porcelain paperclay, glaze 22” x 9.5” x 17”
Blue Vein #9 2020 Porcelain paperclay, glaze 15.5” x 7” x 16.5”
Vena #7 2020 Porcelain paperclay, glaze 20” x 13” x 9.5”
Blue Vein #12 2020 Porcelain paperclay, glaze 17” x 11” x 12'
Untitled 2020 Porcelain paperclay, glaze 14” x 10” x 8”
Vena #3 2019 Porcelain paperclay, glaze 20” x 11” x 11”
Untitled 2018 Poreclain paperclay, glaze 12” x 8” x 9”
Vena #10 2020 Porcelain paperclay, glaze 13.5” x 12” x 8.5”
Blue Vein #11 2020 Porcelain paperclay, glaze 16” x 8.5” x 15.5”
Vena #2 2019 Porcelain paperclay, glaze 16.5” x 8.5” x 15”
SHIYUAN XU CV 2020 EDUCATION 2013-2016 2008-2012
Master of Fine Arts, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Bachelor of Arts, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, P.R China.
SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS 2020 2019 2018 2017
Slowed Growth, Sherry Leedy Contemporary, Kansas City, MO. (Upcoming) Undergrowth, (Two Person Show with Illustrator Alex Boersma), Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL. Slow Growth, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL. Envisioning Invisibility, Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence, KS. Obscure Traces, Mary Matteson-Parrish Art Gallery, Conroe, TX. Experiments in Form & Fiction (Two Person Show with Photographer Liz Hickok), Capsule Gallery, Houston, TX.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2021 EX-tend EX-cess, Center for the Arts Gallery, Towson University, Maryland, MD. Transformations of the Self, Cincinnati, OH. Pour Spill Drip Stain, Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY. 2020 Americano Invitational, ClayAKAR, Iowa City, IA. Focus/20, with Ting-Ying Gallery, De sign Center, Chelsea Harbour, London, UK. Collect 2020, with Ting-Ying Gallery, Somerset House, London, UK. Connection- International Ceramics Cultural Exchange Exhibition, Hong Kong Cultural Center Exhibi tion Gallery, Hong Kong. 2019 Korean International Ceramic Biennale 2019 Three Paths, Academic Nominated Exhibition of China’s Contemporary Crafts, Craft Museum of China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China. Particle & Wave- Paperclay Illuminated, Traveling Exhibition through 2021, ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center, Tempe, AZ; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO; Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, UT; The Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA; The Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT; Boise Art Museum, Boise, Idaho. 2018 The 11th Chinese Contemporary Young Ceramic Art Biennale, Art Museum of China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China. IV. International Ceramics Triennial UNICUM 2018, The National Museum of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slove nia. 22nd San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, San Angelo, TX. In Residence, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX. Here and Now, Hiroshige Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. 2017 The Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics, Seiler’s Gallery, Zanesville, OH. Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale 2017, Incheon, South Korea. Nature: Surface, Form, Content, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT.
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT. Korea Ceramic Foundation, Incheon, South Korea. San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX. The National Museum of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia. AWARDS/GRANTS/SCHOARSHIPS 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
CERF+ Emergency Assistance Grant, CERF+, Montpelier, VT. Artist Relief Grant. National Workshop Scholarship, Arrowmont School of Craft, Gatlinburg, TN. Merit Award, Workhouse Clay International, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA. Best of Show, Contemporary Clay 2018, Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand Junction, CO. Merit Award, 22nd San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX. Aninstantia Grant, Aninstantia Foundation, Pleasanton, CA. Director’s Choice Award, Unwedged, Pottery Northwest, Seattle, WA. Emerging Artist, Ceramics Monthly Magazine, Westerville, OH. Honorable Mention, Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, Icheon, South Korea. Best in Show, Ceramic Innovations, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA. Juror’s Merit Award, The Clay Studio of Missoula, MT. Rudy Autio Fund for Creative Initiatives, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT. Sage Summer Scholarship, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT. GPSA Individual Travel Grant, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
SHERRY LEEDY CONTEMPORARY ART 2004 Baltimore Ave. Kansas City, MO 64108 816.221.2626 sherryleedy.com
