Nexus - NYCxDesign Festival 2026 Jury
Xue‘er Gao
Xue’er Gao is a visual artist working across artist books, printmaking, paper-making, photography, and sculptural installation. Her practice explores the material, spatial, and structural possibilities of paper, transforming traditional book forms into immersive visual and tactile experiences.
Combining handmade paper, natural dyes, pigments, and ink with processes such as cutting, folding, layering, and repetition, Gao creates modular systems that investigate rhythm, memory, fragility, and transformation. Drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese paper-making and binding traditions, she approaches craft as a form of living cultural knowledge while integrating contemporary material experimentation and interdisciplinary research.
Gao received her MFA in Book Arts and Printmaking from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and her BFA in Studio Art from James Madison University. Her work has been exhibited in galleries, libraries, academic institutions, and public cultural spaces across the United States, including a solo exhibition at Philadelphia International Airport.
Through her practice, Gao examines how paper can move beyond the page to become architectural, sculptural, and poetic, bridging craft traditions with contemporary visual culture.