​Me

X-Lab:  

X-Lab is my state of art. Experiment with these arts and crafts in my lab

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Artist Statement

Xue’er Gao’s studio practice centers on the transformation of paper as both material and language. Working across artist books, prints, installations, and sculptural forms, she explores how paper can move beyond the page to become spatial, rhythmic, and architectural.

Her work often begins with hand papermaking, natural dyes, ink, and pigments, allowing color, texture, and absorption to emerge through direct interaction with the material. Through processes of cutting, folding, layering, and repetition, Gao constructs ordered structures that oscillate between fragility and system, individuality and multiplicity.

While elements of traditional Chinese crafts—such as papermaking, binding, and dyeing—inform her practice, they function as a point of departure rather than a limitation. Gao approaches these traditions as living knowledge, integrating them with contemporary experimentation and material research.

Across her work, repetition becomes a method of observation. Individual units—small sheets, fragments, folds, or printed multiples—are arranged into larger compositions that resemble landscapes, waves, or collective bodies. These formations invite viewers to move between micro and macro perspectives, discovering subtle variations within seemingly uniform structures.

Through this material-driven exploration, Gao seeks to understand how paper can carry memory, movement, and transformation—expanding the possibilities of the book form into poetic spatial experiences.

Bio

Xue’er Gao is a visual artist working with artist books, printmaking, papermaking, and sculptural installations. Her practice explores the material and structural possibilities of paper, investigating how traditional book forms can expand into spatial and poetic compositions.

She received her MFA in Book Arts and Printmaking from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and her BFA in Studio Art from James Madison University.

Gao’s work often combines handmade paper, natural dyes, pigments, and ink with processes such as cutting, folding, layering, and repetition. Through these methods, she creates modular systems that transform flat surfaces into dynamic sculptural landscapes.

Her research draws inspiration from traditional Chinese crafts, particularly papermaking and binding traditions, while integrating contemporary material experimentation. By working between structure and fluidity, order and variation, Gao examines how individual units can accumulate into larger visual and conceptual systems.

Her work has been exhibited in galleries, libraries, and cultural institutions across the United States.