LONG TIME NO SEE, on view at Museums at W&L

Solo show: LONG TIME NO SEE 好久不見

28 August 2024–7 June 2024
Website and catalogue: museums.wlu.edu/shih
Exhibition companion: longtimenosee.art

Reeves Museum of Ceramics
Museums at Washington & Lee University
“Stephanie Shih: LONG TIME NO SEE (好久不見) invites visitors to explore each gallery space within the Reeves Museum of Ceramics, offering an immersive exploration of hidden narratives and voices within the Museums at W&L’s nationally renowned Reeves Collection of Chinese Export Porcelain. Through 15 life-size photography and video-based still life installations, photographer and inaugural artist-in-residence Stephanie Shih unveils nuanced insights into themes of commerce, labor, imperialism, and identity. Seamlessly blending still life traditions with Asian American perspectives, Shih juxtaposes altered still life photographs with ceramics drawn from the Reeves Collection, creating a dynamic interplay between the tangible and the photographic. Shih’s work reimagines these coveted ceramics as vessels of diasporic history, prompting reflection on belonging, migration, and cultural identity in the United States. Shih’s thought-provoking series encourages visitors to consider the complexities of possession, desire, and cultural heritage.

The exhibition was organized and conceptualized by Isra El-Beshir (Director of Art Museum and Galleries) and Stephanie Shih, in collaboration with Nalleli Guillen (Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs), Elizabeth Spear (former Curator of Academic Engagement), and curatorial consultants Jacqueline Chao (Cecil and Ida Green Curator of Asian Art at the Dallas Museum of Art), Rachel Du (specialist in Chinese art and history), and Kelly Fu (Stanford University PhD candidate in early modern Chinese global history).

The exhibition is made possible through the support of the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Reeves Endowment, and the Museum Art Fund.” –Museums at W&L