Bio
I received my B.A. in Literature/Writing from the University of California, San Diego and my M.A. in English from the University of California, Davis. In late 2019, I began art-making professionally. Since then, I have exhibited at Kala Art Institute, Torrance Art Museum and the de Young Museum. My work can be found in private and public collections, including Brown University and Facebook. I received an Individual Emerging Artist Fellowship from the California Arts Council in 2021.
Melissa Wang creates large abstract paintings that explore nature, global migrations and human vulnerability. Her families’ transpacific journeys, their experiences in unfamiliar lands and recent political events inform her work. She spontaneously layers water and paint to simulate texture and depth, reflecting literal and figurative states of change. Bright, biomorphic shapes signify vulnerable bodies or landscapes, highlighting what’s at stake. Ultimately, her works are meditations on humans and events seemingly out of their control - and one’s agency in navigating an uncertain world.
Selected Work
