April 14 – 19
Location: Gallery 7, Humanities Building 7th Fl, 455 N Park St, Madison, WI
Reception: Friday, April 17, 5-7pm
No Place to Return explores the vulnerability of life, death, and existence, and the grief embedded in the aspiration toward an ideal home within the context of the Asian diaspora. In ancient Chinese literature and the ruins of architecture, trees often signify the passage of time, cycles of death and regeneration, and the persistence of memory. Throughout the exhibition, trees and wood recur as central motifs of nothingness and absence.
Life unfolds as a continuous attempt to build an ideal dwelling space; yet because of invisible political and economic forces, the imagined home might dissolve into nothing. Through personal reflections on identity, the exhibition examines how notions of home and belonging are shaped, fractured, and reimagined across time, memory, and displacement.
The Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibitions season continues with Tiange Li’s exhibit No Place to Return. The MFA Thesis Exhibitions mark the culmination of a three-year degree program that emphasizes development of a rigorous studio art practice under the supervision of a faculty guidance committee. Exploring an interdisciplinary approach to art making, as well as coursework in art history and related fields, artists cultivate professional practices that facilitate a sustainable career in the arts. Join us in celebrating our Class of 2026 UW-Madison Graduate professionals!