Evelyn Taocheng Wang: I. M. Personally Published by Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf/Dancing Foxes Press. Edited by Eva Birkenstock. Text by Philipp Ekardt, Hendrik Folkerts, Philipp Gufler, Alvin Li, Rory Pilgrim, Adele Schlombs, Yung Ma, Arnisa Zeqo. Interview by Monika Baer, Eva Birkenstock, Henrik Olesen, Stewart Uoo. How Evelyn Taocheng Wang’s nomadic life traversing cultures and continents has informed her explorations of identity This first comprehensive monograph on the work of China-born, Netherlands-based artist Evelyn Taocheng Wang (born 1981) unfolds along the path of her biography—beginning with her early studies in Chengdu, China, her arrival in 2008 in Berlin and Bleckede, Germany, from China, followed by a move to Frankfurt am Main to attend the Städel Academy as a guest student; time in Amsterdam at De Ateliers, Rotterdam; and, most recently, stays in Germany.
Wang’s multimedia art—from painting to video—synthesizes themes of class, gender, fashion, cultural identity, art history and popular culture. The publication traces how the artist’s personal life experiences and encounters during these various stages interweave with her artistic research and practice. Richly illustrated, the book offers a comprehensive presentation of her drawings, paintings, collages, photography, video, narrative writing, installation, sewing and performance, set in dialogue with diverse text contributions by artist friends and colleagues. Essays by a range of writers expand on aspects of Wang’s work, including its narrative strategies, Western and East Asian art historical references, and its focus on cultural identity, political imagery and performance.
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