Victor Wang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vibrant, thickly applied paint and energetic, hyperactive brushwork found in

Victor Wang's paintings are immediately engaging and fascinating to the viewers

his large-scale oil paintings.  His timeless female figures coat, taunt, and intrigue

wihite a dense narrative of joy and pain unfolds in his brilliantly layered, narrative

works.  Utilizing elements of collage on his canvases not only express the artist's

Chinese heritage, but also create a multi-layered background for the depiction of the

beauty of Western women.  Victor Wang's haunting and bold canvases have become the

visual equivalent of "East Meets West."

 

Victor Wang is a gruduate of the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts,one of the mjost

prestigious art institutes in Chine.  After graduation in 1983, he was asked back to Lu

Xun to teach in the oil painting department and to pass on his knowledge to the nest

generation of painters in China.  In 1987, Wang was sent as a visiting scholar to study

at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.  Having experienced life in "the

Western world," he decided to continue his studies at Fontbonne University in

Missouri, where he earned an MFA A degree in 1990.  Upon graduation, Wang was

immediately hired as a professon in their Fine Art departmenat and decided to continue

his life in The United States.  Wang is currently continuing his tenure as professor at

Fontbonne University and enjoys working with young students.  "Teaching informs my

painting," he says, "and my painting informs my teaching."

 

Victor's large-scale oils spotlight the female form as a vehicle for self-ｅxpression; he

wants to convey his concern for what he refers to as the "universal drama:

exhilaration, dreams, desires, expectations, ambitions, and frustrations".  Interwoven

into the background of his paintings are smaller images of traditional Chinese

paintings, thus fusing his heritage with the modern world.  Victor Wang's fresh and

personal vision is quickly establishing him as one for the most exciting realist painters

in the country.

 

In additon to the collage work and beautiful women that inhabit the majority of Victor

Wang's works are the ever-present sunflowers.  "When I was growing up in China with

Mao Zedong as the ruler," he says, "Mao always likened himself as "The Sun"and the

people of China were the sunflowers that always turned in the direction of the sun.  I

use sunflowers, "  he continues "as a constant reminder of where I came from and

where I am going."