Jiawei Gong: Sweet Salvation — June 2 - July 8, 2012
The Museum has a special treat for you this summer with the opening of the Jiawei Gong: Sweet Salvation installation in the Central Gallery. Gong uses the traditional Tibetan sand mandala-making process to create a contemporary symbol, but instead of sand he uses various types of sugar. Watch him create this symbol in person, or, during time when he is not in The Museum, you can see recorded footage of him making the sugar mandala. The symbol will take approximately two weeks to complete and the video will be displayed for the remainder of the installation's stay at The Museum.
While Gong often incorporates modern symbols, he explains in his artist statement, "I draw my inspiration from my daily life and cultural background. Traditional Chinese philosophy and literature serve as a dominate and informative resource for my artwork." The modern symbol sugar-mandala is a prime example of this combination of the modern and traditional.
Jiawei Gong, who was born and raised in China, attended China National Academy of Fine Arts and received his bachelors degree in painting and drawing. After moving to the U.S., he attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale where he received his masters degree in 2-D with a specialization in Digital Media. Currently, Jiawei resides in Reading, Pennsylvania and teaches in the Fine Arts department at Kutztown University.
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