"Shih's architectural work on view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, draws on the Midwestern grotto tradition with a pagoda-style structure. Broken porcelain dinnerware, polished stone, and ceramic sherds uncovered in a Chinese fishing village on Monterey Bay cloak the facade, while hundreds of crowd-sourced knick-knacks and figures embellish the rooftop. Titled "Toy Building (1915-1939)," the six-story sculpture reinterprets a historic spot in downtown Milwaukee that a Chinese immigrant owned and once housed a dancehall, restaurant, and various businesses."
"The artist continues her more recent venture into mosaic in Invisible Hand, a solo exhibition opening this week at SOCO Gallery. A wide, produce promotional in colorful stained glass, "Carolina's Pride Peaches" depicts a woman marveling at the ripe fruit. As a statement from the gallery says, Shih directs us to consumption, portraying the luscious commodity once it's been harvested by an unacknowledged laborer."
Stephanie Shih is known for trompe l'oeil ceramic sculptures of pantry staples and domestic life. She expands a culinary-focused repertoire into mosaic by nesting small glass fragments and pottery sherds into vivid compositions that examine production and labor. A pagoda-style, grotto-informed six-story installation at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center cloaks its facade with broken porcelain, polished stone, and sherds from a Chinese fishing village while a rooftop of crowd-sourced knick-knacks and figures completes the structure. Titled "Toy Building (1915-1939)," the work reinterprets a historic Milwaukee site and assembles archaeological, vintage, and contemporary objects as a collective portrait of the Chinese diaspora. Invisible Hand at SOCO pairs stained-glass promotional imagery with ceramic grocery and fast-food objects to foreground consumption and the unseen labor behind harvested commodities.
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