Ming Wang's 'Through Lingering Windows' in New York

Fou Gallery is delighted to present “Through Lingering Windows,” the New York debut solo exhibition by artist Ming Wang, on view from Jan. 11 to March 8. In this exhibition, Wang captures the subtle beauty of everyday life, transforming familiar scenes into contemplative psychological landscapes that explore the intersection of memory, emotion, and the self. The exhibition, curated by Ashley Ouderkirk, promises an evocative dialogue between the mundane and the extraordinary. 

For most city dwellers, daily life revolves around a familiar routine: rushing from home to work and back, rarely pausing to observe the world around us. For Wang, however, these ordinary moments — walking through familiar streets, parks, or interiors — serve as a foundation for her artistic practice. She draws on her surroundings to craft compositions that delve into our emotional connections to the mundane while seeking deeper meaning.

Originally from Shenzhen, China, and now based in New York, Wang brings an intimate understanding of the routines and landscapes of urban life to her work. Yet, she gravitates toward quiet scenes amidst the chaos, finding inspiration in architectural details, everyday objects, and small, manicured green spaces tucked away in bustling neighborhoods. Each painting is infused with an emotional resonance — loneliness, solitude, comfort, or pride — rooted in the artist’s own reflections on the scene. 

A painting by Ming Wang.

Wang’s artistic process begins with a photograph, taken during a walk or routine moment near her home or studio. From there, she sketches compositions that merge her mindful observations with the emotions each scene evokes. She frequently shifts details, such as changing a bright blue sky to an overcast gray or removing figures and extraneous elements, to fine-tune the emotional atmosphere. Her paintings are not direct representations but are instead reflections of her emotional relationships to the memories or imagined reinterpretations of them.

A painting by Ming Wang.

Color plays a central role in Wang’s practice, particularly her use of gray and blue. Gray tones convey a sense of heaviness and muted time, while blue — deeply inspired by Rebecca Solnit’s “A Field Guide to Getting Lost” — evokes longing, distance, and the expansive quality of atmosphere. In “Fountain” (2024), pale gray skies and deep blue undertones evoke melancholy, with the off-center fountain creating a sense of unease. The delicate streams of water suggest quiet mourning, as though lamenting an unspoken tragedy.

A painting by Ming Wang.

Recurring motifs in Wang’s work, such as shadowy figures and windows, further deepen her exploration of identity and introspection. Shadowy figures, androgynous and undefined, invite viewers to project themselves into the work, shedding identifiers like age, gender, and race. In “New Beginning” (2023), a shadowy figure stands with arms outstretched beneath a keyhole-shaped archway. The composition conveys a striking duality: the weight of the stone architecture evokes anxiety and enclosure, while the passageway opens toward a bright cerulean sky, symbolizing hope and renewal. 

A painting by Ming Wang.

Windows, both literal and metaphorical, are central to the exhibition’s title, “Through Lingering Windows.” Drawing from their rich art historical lineage, Wang uses windows as a lens to examine both the external world and internal emotional landscapes. In “Window Spider” (2023), viewers peer through a double-arched cloister window into a vibrant blue sky, where birds soar freely. Yet the scene conveys a sense of separation, with the viewer positioned inside, longing for connection. Above the window ledge, a delicate spider descends, symbolizing creation and patience, reflecting Wang’s identification with quiet, persistent creativity.

A painting by Ming Wang.

Through her deeply personal and evocative work, Wang invites viewers to pause and appreciate the poignant beauty of the everyday. Her debut solo exhibition, “Through Lingering Windows,” explores the fluidity of memory and the emotional depth of the ordinary, offering a quiet yet powerful challenge to engage more mindfully with the world around us.

Ming Wang

Wang earned her B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts (New York, 2020) and M.F.A. from Columbia University (New York, 2023). Currently, she lives and works in New York. She has been a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts since 2023. Her work has continued to exhibit in China, Europe, and the U.S. 

She was a residency artist at Vermont Studio Center (2024) and won the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Award from Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York (2023), Teaching Assistant Fellowship at Columbia University (2022) and Jack Endewelt Memorial Award, School of Visual Arts (2020). Her work has been published in Arsty, Whitehot Magazine, New American Painting, Neol Magazine, Kunstkritikk, Yitiao, Shenzhen Daily, and other media platforms.