Erica Zhan (b. southeastern hills in China) is an interdisciplinary artist and writer based in Chicago, USA. Swallowed by their experiences of intensive consumerism, celebration capitalism and dynamics of competition, Zhan explores the paradigm of contemporary games and sports, as well as the vulnerability shaped by competitive intensity in the context of late capitalism. Weaving the mediums of performance, video and experimental writing, they simulate and provoke the authentic living situation, scrutinizing the zones of freedom in human society that have been eroded by professionalism and commodification, returning them to their original state of nakedness. Zhan is devoted to transcoding humor, melancholy, sentimentality, play, and poetry.
Zhan holds a Master’s degree in Visual and Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Their performances and works have been showcased at various venues, including the International Museum of Surgical Science, ACRE Projects Gallery, Gene Siskel Film Center, Comfort Station and others. Additionally, Zhan writes poetry, fiction and art criticism, with numerous art review articles published primarily in The Art Newspaper China (rebranded as The Art Journal in 2024).
︎Recent
July-September, 2024 // GlogauAIR Online Art Residency
August 31-September 28, 2024 // 7th Midwest Open at Women Made Gallery
September -October // Ox-bow Longfrom Residency