A Pose of Thorns
Air-dry clay, glass bottle shards, glass paint, 10 x 4 x 3 in

This work takes Titian’s Venus of Urbino as a point of departure to reconsider how the female body has been framed across Roman art historiesI echo the reclining pose yet disrupt it by embedding broken glass into clay. The glass materializes the invisibility of harm, staging a tension between desire and vulnerability. Her body is already covered in thorns; the slightest movement forward would shatter her into pieces. The work invokes Christ’s side wound and the Achilles’ heel, where power admits its weakness. Enmeshed in such ideology, women internalize the script; the wound turns inward.

Tension In the Current
Chicken Wire, fabric, GAC, acrylic paint

With a sculptural language rooted in movement and material tension, Tension in the Current explores the fluidity of natural forces held within constructed boundaries. The work evokes the rhythmic pulse of ocean waves and cascading water, abstracted through manipulated wire structures and suspended textiles. Layers of thick, directional paint lend texture and weight, suggesting erosion, flow, and accumulation over time.

By juxtaposing undulating organic forms with evenly spaced linear elements, Zhong examines the uneasy harmony between nature’s inherent unpredictability and the human desire for control and order. The result is a visual and tactile meditation on containment, release, and the delicate architecture of motion.

Reaching Beyond the Roots
Welded Metal Rod, 65 x 25 x 15 in

This sculpture explores the theme of choosing to connect with the environment while breaking away from the weight of rooted familial expectations. The central figure, represented by a bent metal rod in an abstract form, reaches upward in a defiant attempt to grasp freedom and growth. Surrounding the figure are vibrant, multicolored leaves, symbolizing the nurturing potential of the natural world. The figure is wrapped in canvas fabric and tied with strings of rocks descending toward the ground. These rocks represent the burdens and restraints of familial ties, pulling her downward even as she strives to rise. The interplay of tension and movement reflects the emotional conflict between embracing individuality and the gravity of inherited obligations.

Dripping Cost
Rubber hair ties, nail polish, clear plastic, acrylic on board, 12 in x 18 in

Dripping Cost is a sculptural commentary on the hidden economic and emotional burdens placed on women, particularly surrounding the body and reproductive system. The form, reminiscent of a uterus, evokes both biological delicacy and systemic vulnerability. The repetitive, circular rubber ties resemble both ovarian follicles and consumer items, specifically hair ties, objects often marked up due to the “pink tax,” an insidious form of gender-based pricing. Clear glue and red paint subtly allude to bodily fluids and hidden pain, while the melting, droplet-like shapes suggest both bleeding and leaking value.

Hollow Beneath the Surface
Plaster on Chicken Wire, 20 x 15 x 10 in

This sculpture explores themes of self-sacrifice and emotional emptiness, inspired by the surrealist approach of Max Ernst. The central structure, made of wire, symbolizes the heart—rooted but dry, untouched by the nurturing it provides to others. Plaster layered over the wire creates an illusion of external flourishing, masking the emptiness within. The white drapery surrounding the piece reflects duality: a restraint imposed upon the self and an unequal exchange of giving to others at the expense of personal well-being.