Xia Gao
Associate Professor
Michigan State University
Associate Professor Gao Xia
Michigan State University
Bio
Xia Gao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Art History & Design at Michigan State University. She received her MFA in Textile Art & Design from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining MSU , she worked as a faculty member at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Donghua University in Shanghai, China. Gao is an interdisciplinary visual artist who has been recognized by many nationally and juried internationally exhibition awards. She has exhibited her artwork in numerous juried group exhibitions and solo shows, both nationally and internationally. Her artwork has been featured in books, catalogs , and major periodicals for fiber/textile arts. Gao's work has been supported by competitive fellowships and awards from universities and foundations , including the UW-Madison, the UNL, MSU, the Pritzker Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, ARNA Artist Residency (Sweden), Virginia Center for the Creative Arts , and the I-Park Foundation among others . She has also been invited as a guest lecturer and presenter at diverse academic and conference venues .
Artist Statement
My creative scholarship delves into concept-based visual explorations and expressions , offering unique insights into individual and cultural adaptation and transition from a transnational perspective. My work, influenced by my travel, artist residency experience, and transcultural perspective, has explored various topics , including personal change, gender concerns , and cultural/environmental / social issues related to geographic relocations and cultural, environmental, and societal transformations . My work's theme expands , addressing something from intimacy to societal, individual to collective. It blends traditions and innovations , integrates art , craft, and design, and is a testament to material study and technique exploration to visualize ideas in 2D and 3D and installation expressions.
Artist : Xia Gao, Title:"Vanishing", Medium: Rope, Thermochromic Paint, 3D Modeling, S
ize: 72" (w) x 72"(D) x 90"(H), Date: 2022
Artist: Gao Xia, Work Name: " Disappearance ", Materials: String, temperature-sensitive paint, 3D modeling, induction light R: 72" (w) x 72 " (D) x 90 " (H), #: 2022
Project Statement
This installation addresses climate change in the wake of global warming, it explores the use of thermochromic paint, which presents a color change/vanish reaction to temperature increments, to outline an upside-down three-dimensional tree in slices within the layers of vertical thread formation. The silhouette of the tree resembles temperature data from the year 1850 onward. The work explores data visualization in an installation form to present human impact on the earth.
This installation focuses on the phenomenon of climate change caused by global warming . It explores the use of thermochromic pigments, which outline an inverted three- dimensional tree shape within a layered vertical array . The increase in temperature causes the color to change to the point of being transparent and causing the outlined tree to disappear. The outer contour of the tree reflects the changes in temperature data since 1850. This work explores data visualization in the form of an installation to present the impact of human activities on the earth.
