Spectral Reflection: Becs Epstein & Yiwei Leo Wang

Becs Epstein’s practice is anchored in the dynamics of human-plant relationships. She oscillates between saying sorry and saying thank you to non-humans. She mines her personal history by making research-based laser-engraved ceramics, performance, and installation to create opportunities for viewers to engage in thinking of climate change without becoming paralyzed.

Becs Epstein, a transdisciplinary artist based in Chicago with strong roots to the East Coast and California, delves into the intricate connections between humans and plants. Her art has been showcased internationally and across the United States, including at venues like Links Hall (Chicago), August Wilson Center (Pittsburgh), Elbow Room Gallery (New York City), Arrowmont (Tennessee), and Manifestos of Systematic Change (New Zealand). She has received grants and residencies from as far as Washington and South Korea and as close as University of Chicago. She squiggles into tight spots of toxicity and feeling with the non-human.

Yiwei Leo Wang

Navigating societal norms, we oscillate between revealing and concealing facets of our identity, discovering a boundless inner universe in moments of uninhibited self-expression. The Chinese philosophy of “flower in the mirror, moon on the water,” means an experience that is visible but intangible—an illusion, a fleeting shadow, or a vision. By capturing the ephemeral beauty of vibrant party scenes and the underlying chaotic isolation, we highlight the transient yet profound nature of our encounters and the illusory quality of our most vivid yet artificial experiences.

A native of Shijiazhuang, China, Leo (Yiwei) Wang now resides and works in Chicago, Illinois, where he has earned a graduate degree in Fine Arts Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As an interdisciplinary artist, curator, performer, and raver, Wang explores contemporary social media and pop culture phenomena, with a focus on issues such as body image, gender stereotypes, the dichotomy of nightlife, and the power dynamics within sexual interplay. Wang is the proud recipient of several merit awards and has been showcased in five solo exhibitions (#SOFAB, #SOFAB: FlamBOYant ONLY, #SOFAB: Filtered, #SOFAB: Faux Venus and #SOFAB: Quilted Emptiness). For his work and personality, Wang has been featured in several publications, most notably Suboart Magazine, VoyageLA, and Denver Post.

Gel is a two-person show in our Milwaukee Ave. Window Gallery by Ang Ziqi Zhang and Maggie Crowley about painting and manicures.

Ang Ziqi Zhang (b. 1994, Brampton, Canada) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She received her MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale School of Art in May 2023. She has had solo and two-person exhibitions at Iowa, Brooklyn; LVL3, Chicago; and Produce Model Gallery, Chicago. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at Silke Lindner, New York; Chapter, New York; Derosia, New York; Jan Kaps Gallery, Cologne, Germany; Apparatus Projects, Chicago; Good Weather Gallery, Chicago; Night Club Gallery, Minneapolis; Logan Center Exhibitions, Chicago; Each Modern, Taipei; and Fonda, Leipzig, Germany; among others. Ziqi Zhang will have her first institutional solo exhibition at Neuer Essener Kunstverein in Essen, Germany, in the fall of 2024.

Maggie Crowley received her M.F.A. from the University of Chicago in 2013, her M.A. from Eastern Illinois University in 2011 and her B.S. in Education from Illinois State University in 2009. Crowley has exhibited in numerous venues including Devening Projects, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, the Hyde Park Art Center, Area: Lugar de Proyectos in Caguas, Puerto Rico, and the Cue Foundation in New York City. In 2020 and 2022 Crowley was awarded individual artist grants from the Illinois Arts Council. In 2021 Crowley was awarded a fully funded residency at the Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists in Saugatuck, Michigan. In 2022 she was a recipient of the Jarislowsky Foundation’s Emerging Artists award with a fully funded residency at The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Canada. Since 2016, Crowley has co-directed Produce Model Gallery in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. In 2023, Crowley was named one of Chicago’s Breakout Artists by Newcity Magazine.