We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chenxi Gao a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Chenxi , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I had been making drawings since I was a child, but I always saw myself as a self-taught art lover. Becoming a professional artist, or even majoring in art was more like a dream. It was in the community college where I became more confident about my artistic skills, thanks to the support from my professors. It started with the thought “I have the ability and I am going to take advantage of it.” However, toward the end of my senior year in college, I realized that art is more than image-making to me. I can reflect on my personal experiences, talk about difficult topics, and cope with the struggling associated with changes in my life. From this point on, I know that I want to be a professional artist.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a current MFA student at the University of North Texas with a concentration in printmaking. I came to the U.S. from China for college. The root of my art making is from my childhood experience in a small town in the north of China. The worn-out floor, the stitches on the hand-made clothing, and the dangling wires in my parent’s yard fascinate me. They make my work personal and thus unique. I juxtapose my self-portrait, the objects, and landscape in my works. The topics that I keep returning to are the fragmented memories of my hometown, the lost relationships, and the idea of what makes home home. In addition to printmaking, I also have a background in painting and ceramics. I would love to return to them soon.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I think it is the conversations and relationships. When people see my work, they are having a conversation with me even though I may be physically absent. They may be curious about the story or get reminded of their experiences. The viewers can be strangers, friends, and family members. Art making enables me to share my thoughts in a subtle indirect way, and I am enjoying it.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
The library and the websites of major museums and galleries. A good book offers a comprehensive discussion on an artist’s practices or an art movement. It is often better than the simplified and fragmented information from a general web search. Major museums and galleries have their online collection of interviews, exhibition reviews, etc. Those resources are usually free but can lead to interesting discoveries.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chenxigao.wordpress.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chenxigaoart/