WILLIAM ANDERSEN: veiled ramblings and XIAOHONG ZHANG: contradictorily speaking

Milwaukee artist William Andersen's installations are informed by his extensive travel, and explore the impact of globalization, displacement, and cultural hybridization. His previous work has focused on the ramifications of China's emergence as a world power. This exhibition, veiled ramblings, drew upon his recent experiences in the Arabian Peninsula, and addressed common misperceptions about the region. One of the pieces in this installation was created in collaboration with Iranian artist Maryam Hosseinia, Andersen's colleague at the American University of Kuwait.

Xiaohong Zhang, a first generation Chinese immigrant from Hubei Province, uses the traditional art of paper cutting to create large-scale work that is both personal and deeply political. In precise, intricately patterned images, she reflects on the challenges of bridging cultures and raising children in a turbulent and violent world. In contradictorily speaking, Zhang's work focused on China's response to the Tibetan independence movement and the complex relationship between Communism and Buddhism.