Ernie Wang’s studio is a trove of tools, whimsical objects, and free-standing sculptures. His work bursts with color and playful details – slides, turrets, a recurring bean character, and ceramic chains – springing from a yearning for the innocence and unbridled imagination of childhood. But beneath the vibrant surfaces lies a deeper exploration of innocence, imagination, and the ways we navigate reality.

Wang often looks to spaces of escape, like theme parks, video games, and zoos, for inspiration. ‘When I visit a theme park, it’s all about forgetting daily life and giving in to pure entertainment, even if just for a day,’ he says in this episode of ‘Meet the artists’.

His ceramics wrestle with life’s choices. ‘I think a lot about dilemmas, directions, and the flux we live in,’ Wang reflects. By layering forms in surprising collisions, he captures this tension, holding fantasy and reality in balance. 

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