Mood and Matter

Description

In this workshop, participants explore the intersection of painting and sculpture through the practice of material collage. Drawing inspiration from the ways found and crafted objects hold personal and collective histories, students learn to build dense, tactile surfaces on panels. We move beyond traditional flat collage to experiment with a variety of materials, including fabric, wood, and mixed media aggregates. Students practice techniques for layering and relief, learning how to treat objects with a painterly sensibility while respecting their physical weight and texture. We investigate how specific materials act as vessels for stories and how our built environment serves as a site for creative transmission. By the end of the session, each student will have created a multidimensional work that challenges the boundaries between the representational and the physical. This class is designed for all skill levels, exploring the intimate potential of sentimental or found objects within a contemporary art context. Materials are provided. Price Tiers: 20% off Labor: $48 Labor: $60 Labor + Materials: $85 About the Instructor: Based in Brooklyn, NY, Ye Zhu (he/him) is an interdisciplinary artist focused in painting, public art, and social practice. Zhu earned his MFA from Yale University (2020) and BFA from The Cooper Union (2010). Zhu has had solo exhibitions at DIMIN Gallery (2025, 2023) and Harkawik Gallery (2022) in New York, NY, and Moskowitz Bayse (2021) in Los Angeles, CA; a survey solo at the Andrew Freedman Home in Bronx, NY (2022); exhibited in group shows at The Drawing Center, NY (2025), David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL (2024), Schuylkill Center, Philadelphia, PA (2024), among many others; created a tribute art installation for healthcare workers in the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (2022); designed a billboard at Kingsgate Project Space in London, UK (2021); and designed two large-scale public art installations: one in Strafford, NH titled A Universe and the other in Governors Island, NY titled CONSTELLATION (2021). Zhu is a founding and leading member of Haven Arts Park (2020-2023), whose mission is to remediate a contaminated land into a healing-garden art-park (recipient of Andrew Mellon Foundation grant, 2022-2023). Zhu has been the subject of interviews for publications in the New York Times, Bomb Magazine, and Curator Guide. Instagram: @ye.zhu_ Website: www.ye-zhu.info