Portfolio - Bree Zhang
Click each work to see its description. Click on the side arrow to scroll for more.
Brunoscapes
To document my experiences at Brown University, I’ve started to paint memorable locations at Brown as a series of surrealistic dreamscapes, each associated with specific memories, feelings, and emotions.
STEM in Art
These works are inspired by my STEM passions within chemistry, biology, physiology, and genetics. They also contain important messages related to the healthcare field: medicine, behavioral health, public health, and my future profession: 🦷 dentistry 🦷
Dreams
These dreamscapes and imaginary lands are rendered spontaneously without any prior planning, sketching, or reference photos. Like lucid dreaming, I let go of my inhibitions and allow my imagination to fabricate the landscape around me as I revel in the unconstrained fields of my mind and the different variations of creativity it can manifest.
Snapshots in Time
The world as I see it is composed of snapshots of meaningful places, objects, and people that have emotional significance to me, no matter if they are happy, funny, sad, or tragic. I capture these moments in memory so that I can keep them with me forever, etch them forever in the molecular gaps between the threading of my canvas or paper. Without them, I wouldn't be Bree Zhang.
Ordinary Meets Unordinary
These pieces retain the structural integrity of the ordinary world but transcend the constraints of reality. Some works are simply funny humorous, some are bizarre and outlandish, some are inspirational, some may be sad or frightening.
Social Commentary
My social commentary functions as activism and investigation within the intersectionalities of race, gender, sexuality, neurodiversity. It ranges from calling us to take voting action, to raising awareness about Anti-Asian Hate, to encouraging us to stand in solidarity against COVID-19, to analyzing female idealizations and expectations in relation to objectification, clothing, body image, and sexual violence.
Returning Home
A collection of four works made in conjunction with a guzheng song I composed for my grandma. Each piece shows treasured moments with my grandmother that I hold dearest in my heart: feeding fish above a pond in my hometown, blowing candles during my birthday, simply laughing together, and most importantly—reuniting with her after 7 years of separation. Click here for the song and a more detailed description of my relationship with my grandmother.
Daydreams
These pieces (made in conjunction with my song, Daydreams) detail a time in the past filled with insecurities, fears, loneliness, and self-loathing, a time when I floundered in search of an identity. To the girl in this song (Me Of the Past), she would’ve never imagined herself living the life featured at the end of this song (artwork which I paint in saturated beautiful colors), so it’s just yet another “daydream,” a beautiful lie she repeats to herself in hopes of seeing change. But someday, it will come true, someday ❤️
The Sides of Me You Don't See
A 3-D interactive work that explores my struggle to come to terms with my Chinese identity growing up in a white community. Click inside the first picture for the full description
