Xue’er Gao is a mixed-media material artist who explores the relationship between the past and present through the medium of paper. Her works range from bookmaking and prints to installations and sculptures. Fascinated with the endless shapes of paper, Gao explores new ways of manipulating the physicality of parchment through media combinations and material techniques.
Gao constantly experiments with different styles across history, often creating papers and pigments from scratch. As the material is painted, cut, layered, and folded, its form changes from simple fibers to a complex melody of mediums. Whether it's a two-dimensional print or a three-dimensional installation, Gao treats every piece as an opportunity to form new connections between differing materials.
Though she is galvanized by the traditions of Chinese craftsmanship, Gao approaches these traditions as a springboard rather than a goal. Her curiosity regarding all cultures allows her to combine the traditional with the contemporary, enabling her heritage to structure but not limit her exploration.
Across her works, Gao invites viewers to move between micro and macro perspectives through detail and shape. The numerous small fragments, folds, and textures she creates are layered together to form larger shapes and movement. Gao’s attention to both detail and overall structure of every piece allows her work to take on multiple layers of meaning.
As Gao continues to traverse through forms and traditions, she remains loyal to the simplicity of paper. The modest textures, sounds, and smells of parchment do not falter in being the main reason for her love of the medium in the first place. Matched with Gao’s endless curiosity and the ability to push the material in different directions, her love of the medium remains the driving force behind every piece she creates.
CV
2019 James Madison University | BFA Studio Art
2022 University of the Arts | MFA Book Arts and Printmaking
Exhibitions
2026 In the Pursuit of Happiness, Cannery Village Gallery | Newport Beach, CA
2026 NYCxDESIGN Festival – Design Nexus / Re/Craft | New York, NY
2025 Paper Morphosis: The Poetic Flow of Book Forms and Textures | Philadelphia, PA
2024 Art on Paper New York, Metropolitan Art Atelier, Pier 36 | New York, NY
2024 On the Critical Point: Wanderlust and Nostalgia in the New Age | Philadelphia, PA
2024 Arts North International 29, Hopkins Center for the Arts | Hopkins, MN
2023 Hacking the Library: An Art in the Libraries Exhibition, West Virginia University Libraries | Morgantown, WV
2023 Philly 2023 MFA Graduates, Commonweal. Gallery | Philadelphia, PA
2023 Shapes and colors, Gallerium Art Gallery | online
2023 Local Art, I Knead Coffee | Philadelphia, PA
2023 Ink, Press, Repeat University Galleries| William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ
2022 Book Arts and Print MFA WIP SHOW Anderson Hall Gallery 224 | Philadelphia, PA
2022 Searching for a New Normal Parkway Central Library | Philadelphia, PA
2022 WIP Exhibition Gallery 224 | Philadelphia, PA
2021 Uarts Book Arts, Printmaking alumni show, Icebox Project Space | Philadelphia,
2019 Why You Change Chord, Arts Council of the Valley | Harrisonburg, VA
2019 Juried Show, James Madison University | Harrisonburg, VA
2018 SPACE, Critique Space 2027 | Harrisonburg, VA
2018 Emerging and Emerged Pt. 3, Artwork Gallery | Harrisonburg, VA
2018 Record Keepers, Duke Hall Gallery | Harrisonburg, VA
2018 Anything, Artwork Gallery | Harrisonburg, VA
2018 Accumulation, Pop-Up Art Collective | Harrisonburg, VA
2018 39th Annual Student Print Exhibition Traveling Exhibition James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA
Publication
2023 Lighthouse Weekly Spring
2023 Quibble, Issue 9: Puzzle. Riddle. Puddle
2023 Beyond Queer Words, A Collection of Stories, February 2023 (Fourth Edition)
2019 Gardy Loo, Literary & Arts Magazine SPRING
2018 Gardy Loo, Literary & Arts Magazine FALL
2018 Gardy Loo Literary & Arts Magazine Spring