Artist based in New York, NY
Jiannan Wu
Tell us about yourself, what's your background?
I’m Jiannan Wu, an artist living between New York and China, and I teach at the New York Academy of Art. I studied Sculpture at China Academy of Art (BFA) and earned my MFA at the New York Academy of Art. I didn’t fully decide to become an artist until after finishing graduate school—once I graduated, I realized this was the only path I wanted to commit to long-term.
Kabul Airport 2022 70x48x16 cm Acrylic on resin, wood and metal
Left: Destiny Is All 2022 60x61x21 cm Acrylic on resin, wood and metal
Right: Wonder Wheel 2022 60x68x17 cm Acrylic on resin, wood and metal
“[My] process is both sculptural and painterly: I build figures and architecture in layers, control depth like a stage set, and use color, lighting, and detail to guide how the viewer reads the story."
Sculpting process in studio
What are you currently working on and where did the inspiration for it come from?
I’m currently making a bas-relief inspired by the 1998 World Cup clash between David Beckham and Diego Simeone—where provocation meets a split-second impulse, and calculation hides inside performance. Simeone’s exaggerated fall turns Beckham into the red card, the loss, and ultimately the scapegoat. The work focuses on what follows: how defeat is quickly pinned on one person, and how public opinion delivers a blunt, simplified justice that replaces complexity with collective judgment—something that also resonates deeply with my own life and emotional experiences.
Left: Country Love: New Look 2019 20x15x6 cm Acrylic on resin, wood and LED light
Right: Feb.News 2022 45x31.5x32.5 cm Acrylic on resin, antique TV case and LED light
Innovation does not only happen in the field of technology — it occurs everyday in a creative practice. What do you do for inspiration?
Inspiration for me comes from constantly looking and collecting—watching TV and the rhythms of news media, following sports as a kind of public theater, and paying attention to how images shape emotion and opinion. I also visit exhibitions whenever I can, because seeing work in person always resets my eyes and pushes my thinking. I save screenshots, headlines, and visual details, then bring them back to the studio and translate them into staged scenes that feel familiar but slightly unreal, like memories frozen in relief.
Sculpting process in studio
Where do ideas start for you?
My ideas almost always start in the world. I’m constantly collecting raw material—images from TV and news, sports broadcasts, exhibitions I visit, and everyday encounters or conversations. Back in the studio, I translate those fragments into staged relief scenes, compressing time and space the way a film frame does. The process is both sculptural and painterly: I build figures and architecture in layers, control depth like a stage set, and use color, lighting, and detail to guide how the viewer reads the story.
Left: Thumbnail sketches for paintings; Right: Sculptures in progress
Studio view
How do you make your work, does it start with a sketch?
My work usually starts with quick sketches on paper to plan the scene, then I build a digital model, 3D print it, and re-sculpt the surface by hand to bring back texture and emotion. After that, I mold the piece, cast it in metal, and finish it with paint. The style is realistic but theatrical—compressed space, layered depth, and highly detailed figures—shaped by my classical sculpture training and my fascination with contemporary image culture.
Painting sculpture in studio
Many artists live by their routines, what does that look like for you?
Yes — I’m pretty routine-driven. In the morning I usually handle emails and logistics, and around midday I shift fully into making work and stay in the studio until late evening. While I’m working, I like having something playing in the background—sports radio, a live match, or sometimes a TV series—so the studio feels active and keeps my rhythm steady.
Left: "Cheers", 2022, 60x66x23 cm, Acrylic on resin, wood and metal
Right: "New York New York", 2016, 153x130x128 cm, Acrylic on Resin
"Summit 2019", 2022, 80x24x10 cm, Acrylic on resin, wood and metal
Who are your biggest influences?
My biggest influences are my father and two of my middle-school art teachers. My father gave me my earliest connection to art as a genuine interest, while my teachers shaped my artistic values and, more importantly, helped form my character and way of thinking.
Love Story, 2024, 27x29x29 cm, Acrylic on aluminum
What is the best advice you would give to other artists?
Take advantage of the time
2022 Contemporary Perspectives, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Stay up to date with Jiannan Wu
Instagram @jiannan_wu