RESUME

Alice Wu is a multidisciplinary artist who was raised in the United States and Taiwan. Her practice draws from a former career in fashion to explore themes of performance in everyday life, self-presentation, and reinvention after loss. Her work was recently shown in San Francisco at Edge on the Square, Southern Exposure, and Your Mood Projects. Alice earned an MFA in Sculpture from Yale University. She is based in Oakland, CA.

ALICE WU

B. 1973

Lives and works in Oakland, CA

EDUCATION

2001 Yale University School of Art, M.F.A.

1996 Wellesley College, B.A.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2024 for you or someone you know, MAG Galleries, San Francisco, CA

Walking Stories, curated by Candace Huey, Edge on the Square, San Francisco, CA

2023 Today is the Greatest, curated by Quickest Flip, NIAD Art Center, Richmond, CA

Pyramid Scheme, selected by Leila Weefur, Bass & Reiner, San Francisco, CA

Morphologies, curated by Selby Sohn, Your Mood Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Your Moodiest, curated by Alana Heiss, Your Mood Gallery, San Francisco, CA 

Do-It-Yourself! curated by Kristine Greive and Christine Jacobson, Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Chinatown Chronicles, curated by Julia Wintner, Eastern Connecticut University Art Gallery, Willimantic, CT

2022 Mirror Material, curated by Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA

Kala Artists Annual, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA

Crimson Tide, Soft Times Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2021 Uplift / Heavy Lift, curated by Thea Quiray-Tagle, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA

2020 Gatherings Project, Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID

Gatherings Project, Patricia Rovzar Gallery, Seattle, WA

Through My Eyes, curated by Cliff Hengst and Scott Hewicker, NIAD Art Center, Richmond, CA

2017 Kala Artists Annual, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA 

2015 Glamorgeddon, curated by Johanna Poethig, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA 

2010 Artists Choose Artists, The Painting Center, New York, NY 

2009 Dome Colonies, curated by Fritz Haeg, X-Initiative, New York, NY 

2008 The O Show, curated by MatCH-Art, Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, NJ 

2007 A Tale of Two Cities, curated by Svea Lin Soll, Swarm Gallery, Oakland, CA 

Back To Analog, curated by Duval Culpepper, Third Ward, Brooklyn, NY

Trash Menagerie: Fantasy Island III, curated by Christina Vassallo, Drake Hotel, Toronto, Canada 

The Social Body, curated by David Gibson, Rocket Projects, Miami, FL

2005 Dingo Derby, curated by Anat Ebgi, Frisbee Art Fair at the Cavalier Hotel, Miami, FL

The GIFT wrap/set/boutique, curated by Ingrid Chu, Julia Friedman Gallery, New York City 

Wax-tique and Body Decoupage, Fritz Haeg’s Salon Salon, Los Angeles, CA

Clothesline: Art, Clothing, Identity, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM

2004 Super Salon, curated by Camilo Alvarez, Samson Projects, Boston, MA

Showdown, curated by Fritz Haeg, MAK Center/Schindler House, Los Angeles, CA

High Desert Test Sites, curated by Andrea Zittel, Joshua Tree, CA

Kung Fu Shek (Shek-in-the-Box), Sundown Salon, Los Angeles, CA

Piñata Party (It Can Change), Gavin Brown's Enterprise at Passersby, New York, NY

2003 Sherwood Forest, Again! The Big in Japan Tour, HaNNa, Tokyo, Japan

Sherwood Forest, Landing, Brooklyn, NY 

2002 Les Lüchs, Project Green, Brooklyn, NY

Artist in the Marketplace AIM 22, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY 

2001 Arse About Face, curated by Deborah Edmeades, Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, NY 

1999 Paradise 8, curated by Martha Wilson, Exit Art, New York, NY

AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES

2016 Southern Exposure Alternative Exposures Grant, San Francisco, CA

2007 The Drake Hotel, Toronto, Canada

2005 Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM

2004 MAK Center/Schindler House, West Hollywood, CA

2001 New York Foundation for the Arts New York Arts Recovery Fund, New York, NY

Susan H. Whedon Award, New Haven, CT

2000 Yale-Norfolk Special Projects Grant, Norfolk, CT

Artists Space Independent Projects Grant, New York, NY

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2023 Interview, KTSF26, September 23, 2023

2016 Unfinished Memories: Thirty Years of Exit Art, Steidl

Milner, Caille, “Chinatown: In the Photographers’ Eye,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 19, 2016 

2015 Held, John, “Down the Chute in Chinatown,” SFAQ

Black, Kate, Magnifeco: Your Head-to-Toe Guide to Ethical Fashion and Non-toxic Beauty, New Society Publishers

2013 Garrett, Natalie Eve, “Sculpting a Career in Fashion: How Alice Wu Made the Switch from Fine Arts to Clothing Design,” Slate, June 5, 2013

Shaw, David, and Dimitri Koumbis, Fashion Buying: From Trend Forecasting to Shop Floor, Bloomsbury Academic

2012 Cline, Elizabeth L., Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, Portfolio Books

Barnfield, Jo, and Andrew Richards, The Pattern Making Primer, Rotovision/Barron’s

2009 Haeg, Fritz, and Stacy Wakefield, The Sundown Salon Unfolding Archive, Evil Twin Publications

2002 Artist in the Marketplace, 22nd Annual Exhibition Catalog, Bronx Museum of the Arts, July 2002

Cotter, Holland, “Artist in the Marketplace” review, The New York Times, September 6, 2002

1999 Cotter, Holland, “Changes Aside, SoHo Is Still Very Much SoHo,” The New York Times, February 12, 1999 

LECTURES AND PANELS

2022 Panelist, Careers in the Arts, Wellesley College (Virtual)

2021 Panel Moderator, TransEurope Halles/Tardino 6 Cultural Accelerator (Virtual)

2019 Guest Artist Lecturer, Salaam Cinema, Baku, Azerbaijan

2016 Panelist, Slow Fashion Forum, A Verb for Keeping Warm, Oakland, CA 

2013 Panelist, Green Drinks Eco-Fashion, San Francisco, CA 

Panelist, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, San Francisco, CA

Guest Artist Lecturer, VCU Qatar, Doha, invited by Melanie McClintock

Guest Artist Lecturer, California State University at Monterey Bay, invited by Johanna Poethig 

2012 Guest Artist Lecturer, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 

Guest Artist Lecturer, University of California at Berkeley, invited by Anne Walsh 

2011 Guest Artist Lecturer, Cañada College 

2005 Guest Artist Lecturer, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM

2004 Guest Artist Lecturer, Parsons School of Design Pre-College Fashion Program, invited by Aaron Wexler

2003 Guest Artist Lecturer, University of California at Irvine, invited by Lorraine O’Grady 

2000 Guest Artist Lecturer, Wellesley College, invited by Phyllis McGibbon

TEACHING

2024 Soft Sculpture, Edge on the Square Youth Programs, San Francisco, CA

2023 Soft Sculpture, Edge on the Square Youth Programs, San Francisco, CA

Soft Sculpture, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA

Sustainable Artist Strategies, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA

2019 Professional Development for Artists, U.S. Embassy MAX Alumni / Ta(r)dino 6, Baku, Azerbaijan 

2018 Leathercrafting, Patricia Sweetow Gallery, San Francisco, CA 

2008 Animal Estates: Salamander Habitats, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA 

2006 Fashion: You Wear It Well, Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY

2005 Fashion: Family Day, Brooklyn Public Schools, Brooklyn, NY

2004 Adjunct Lecturer in Sculpture, Yale University, New Haven, CT

2003 Fashion Intensive, Krabbesholm Højskole, Skive, Denmark 

2002 Adjunct Lecturer in Sculpture, University of Connecticut at Stamford, Stamford, CT

Fashion Intensive, Krabbesholm Højskole, Skive, Denmark

2001 Artist Instructor, Studio in a School, New York, NY

Fashion Intensive, Krabbesholm Højskole, Skive, Denmark

Teaching Assistant to Jessica Stockholder, Yale University, New Haven, CT

CURATORIAL PROJECTS

2019 I-Hotel: Drawings by Leland Wong, curated by Alice Wu, San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries, Cafe Valor at War Memorial Veterans Building, San Francisco, CA

On Growing Up in a Chinatown Store, curated by Alice Wu, Design Store at the Chinese Culture Center, San Francisco, CA 

2017 FREE TRADE, curated by Alice Wu, Design Store at the Chinese Culture Center, San Francisco

2016 Social Energies, curated by Alice Wu, Legion, San Francisco, CA

This, That, and Hours in the Sun: Leah Rosenberg and Cariss Potter Carlson, curated by Alice Wu, Legion, San Francisco, CA

How Now Chinatown: Seven Photographers, curated by Alice Wu, Legion, San Francisco, CA

2015 A Waffle Lot: New Work by Evah Fan, curated by Alice Wu, Legion, San Francisco, CA

Hello at Last: Chelsea Wong and Mia Christopher, curated by Alice Wu, Legion, San Francisco, CA

Paper Trail: Casey Gray, curated by Alice Wu, Legion, San Francisco, CA

No Rules To Do: Jessalyn Aaland, curated by Alice Wu, Legion, San Francisco, CA

SELECTED FASHION PRESENTATIONS

2007 Feral Childe SS08: 4D4Ever, Collection Presentation, UTOWA, New York, NY

Feral Childe FW07: Canadian Alphabet, Collection Presentation, The Drake Hotel, Toronto, Canada

2006 Feral Childe SS07: Trans-Siberia Express, Collection Presentation, The Canal Chapter, New York, NY

2004 Feral Childe SP04: Les Lüchs, Collection Presentation, Project Green, Brooklyn, NY

Feral Childe FW04: Sherwood Forest, Collection Presentation, Culture Outlet, New York, NY

2000 IT’S AN EXCITING TIME TO BE ME: Pick and Roll 2000, Houston/Sixth Ave Basketball Courts, New York, NY

COSTUME DESIGN 

2012 The Line Between, Ink Boat Dance Company, ODC, San Francisco, CA

2011 Puri Project, Dohee Lee, ODC, San Francisco, CA

2010 O Sleep, Theresa Wong, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA

2009 Necessary Monsters, Carla Kihlstedt, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA

2006 Army of Darkness, Jacob Williams & Blood Manor, The Art Parade, Deitch Projects, New York, NY

2002 Claude, Andrea Kleine, Dance Theater Workshop, New York City

1997 Memory Never Was, Kyle de Camp, P.S. 122, New York City

SERVICE 

2024 Panelist, San Francisco Arts Commission, Artist Grant Panel, San Francisco, CA

2021- Member, Kala Art Institute Advisory Council, Oakland, CA

2021 Panelist, California Arts Council, GEN:General Operating Relief-Organizations Grants

2019 Mentor, New York Foundation for the Arts Oakland Immigrant Artist Program, Oakland, CA 

2018 Panelist, City of Emeryville Marina Public Art, Emeryville, CA

2017 Portfolio Reviewer, Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA 

2016 Volunteer, Creative Growth Art Center, Oakland, CA