Stella Chang was born in San Jose, California, and grew up between the U.S., Taiwan, and Canada. In 2003, she attended New York University and studied studio art under video art pioneer Peter Campus, and American painter Keith Mayerson. In 2006 she received her BFA and quickly learned that having artistic vision and training don’t easily pay the rent. It was a shock to her system, indeed, so she put art on hold to design fashion handbags and accessories for brands such as BCBG Max Azria, Kate Spade, Rag & Bone, and Coach, among many others. In 2012 Stella received a letter of recognition from the queen of fashion herself, Anna Wintour.
In 2019 Stella returned to the arts and founded her own studio ModaRévisé to dedicate herself fully as a conceptual artist whose weapon of choice is using a mixed media of 3D printing and glass/metal Dibond prints to create an unusual sensory experience for viewers. She is currently an artist member of the prestigious Society Of Illustrators in New York City.
Statement:
Instead of focusing on the “representational figurative” or “realism,” my artworks fully embrace the idea of creating the “unseen” so that each piece becomes a visual exploration for viewers to experience phenomena, be it social, racial, spiritual, historical, political, or simply a different type of beautiful.
This may be the result of my upbringing spanning three countries and cultures. Each time when I landed in a different country, my sense of self, social mores, and even aesthetic preference had to change to assimilate with the dominant culture. By the time I was 12, I was forced to grasp that whatever is “beautiful” is not set in stone, it is fluid and transient depending on who’s viewing it. This phenomenon very much echoes my own “identity crisis” as I’m never quite Taiwanese, American, or Canadian, depending on who’s viewing me in that particular moment.
Growing up like this, it’s not hard to see why I’m fascinated more by the perspective with which people employ to view things and form their opinions, rather than being fascinated by the opinion itself. Therefore, my art is a visual experiment that explores how people engage and discover the process that forms their own perspective.