WangShui: poiesis

The Rockbund Art Museum (RAM), Shanghai, is proud to present poiesis, the first museum solo exhibition by the New York-based artist WangShui (b.1986, United States). This project is the first show at the museum since the end of the zero-COVID policy in China and will also relaunch the RAM under the new Artistic Director, X Zhu-Nowell. 

Known for their technically complex yet ethereal works, WangShui blends poetics and cybernetics in multilayered paintings, installations, and video. Titled after the Greek word poiesis, meaning “to bring something into being,” this exhibition expands upon WangShui’s artistic research into alternative modes of collaboration and unexpected ways of “integrating different agents,” in the words of the artist. This exhibition and new body of work highlight the most recent development of WangShui’s singular art practice, questioning the idea of human consciousness as the sole wellspring of creative activity while interrogating the logic of perception and the politics of (in)visibility.  

Poiesis revolves around a new commission on the fourth floor of the museum that consists of eight aluminum floor paintings which change position throughout the duration of the show. The choreography is driven by an invisible algorithm that processes real time ultrasonic frequencies collected in the museum. This shapeshifting installation brings out the modular nature of each painting, which shuffles through the space to form a greater collective composition. 

In collaboration with the design studio The Roll, WangShui has created an immersive architectural intervention that spans the fourth and fifth floors. This dream-like chamber is constructed with a multi-layered, semi-translucent fabric that refracts both interior and exterior light, creating a unique visual experience. On the top floor of the chamber, the artist presents a new series of paintings that depict otherworldly figures and encounters.

WangShui’s process of “machine painting,” which usually involves collaboratively generating images with artificial intelligence (AI), is further abstracted in the poiesis exhibition. The artist presents a mix of works, some made with AI and others without, engaging equally with various other elements, such as atmospheric conditions and historical research.

Unlike conventional Western paintings, which typically use oil and other media on a stretched fabric surface, WangShui intricately abrades images into the surfaces of aluminum panels and applies paint sparingly to illuminate these scratches. This approach challenges the history of Western painting, which emphasizes the creation of an everlasting fixed image. In contrast, WangShui’s paintings shift with light and movement—appearing and disappearing all at once.