Daniel Shieh is an immigrant artist who investigates what is considered foreign to the United States, and how the concept of Otherness plays a role in the formation of national identity. Through audio and visual installations, he examines key themes in American culture such as the frontier, nativism, and space exploration. These immersive installations manipulate perspective, sense of distance, and visibility to alter the power dynamics between its visitors. For example, Sky Well presents someone in front of you as if they are on the other side of the world, simultaneously close by and apart. Familiarly Foreign questions the separation of Asian from America and exhibits the exoticizing gaze towards Asian objects.
Daniel Shieh’s solo exhibitions include: “Breaths/Touching Slowly” at GSD Kirkland Gallery (Cambridge, MA) and “Familiarly Foreign” at Wave Pool (Cincinnati, OH). His outdoor installations have been exhibited by I-Park Foundation (East Haddam, CT), Franconia Sculpture Park (Shafer, MN), and Josephine Sculpture Park (Frankfort, KY). He has been invited as an artist in residence to the Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris, France), Wassaic Project (Wassaic, NY), MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA), ACRE (Steuben, WI), Anderson Ranch (Snowmass Village, CO), Millay Arts (Austerlitz, NY), Fountainhead (Miami, FL), LMCC Arts Center (Governors Island, NY), Stove Works (Chattanooga, TN), Jamestown Art Center (Jamestown, RI), and Socrates Sculpture Park (Queens, NY). Shieh received an MDes from Harvard University and is based in New York.
