Rising Stars: Meet Chuchen Song of Toledo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chuchen Song

Hi Chuchen, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I received my M.F.A. from the glass program of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale in 2021, and my B.F.A. in design from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 2017. My current body of work involves a series of enameled and kiln formed glass which contain symbolic imageries to talk about the experience of Chinese women in this cultural background. I utilize an ancient glass enameling technique called “grisaille” to paint on glass. During the process of enameling, I hand draw the linework onto the glass, the imagery will then be kiln fired at 1100 degrees for fifteen minutes in order to fuse the enamel to the glass. My process involves multiple rounds of drawing and kiln firings in order to achieve depth and detail in my imagery.

After receiving my M.F.A. in glass from SIU in 2021, I moved to Toledo, Ohio to work at the Toledo Museum of Art. During the past a few years I was honored to be selected in different exhibitions both nationally across the United States, and internationally at exhibitions such as the International Biennale of Glass 2023 in Sofia, Bulgaria, The Ireland Glass Biennale 2023 in Dublin, Ireland, and the 2022 Qingdao International Glass Medium Art Exhibition in Qingdao, China. I have also held solo exhibitions at the Maumee Valley Country Day School in Toledo, Ohio, and at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville Tennessee. In addition, I was selected from an international call as a finalist of the Momentum Art/Industry Intersection project to complete a funded work with NSG/Pilkington glass. The exhibition showed at the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion in 2022.

Most recently, I was granted the opportunity to give a lecture to present my work and technique during the International Glass art society conference which held in Berlin, Germany.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Working with glass as a material is a constant struggle. Even after putting weeks of time and effort, many times of kiln firing and waiting, it can still break at the last moment or inside the kiln. It requires a lot of patience, endless practice and countless failure, but during the journey of working with this material can also be fascinating. Glass has some very unique qualities as a material to work with. The material can be hot or cold, it can be fragile or constantly moving like honey. More importantly, it has a dreamy quality that draws every glass maker in. As a glass artist, sometimes a failure or an unexpected test result can also ignite the spark in my mind to come up with many different ideas. I much enjoy the process of exploring and pushing the boundary of the possibility of this material.

Working in US as an international artist sometimes can be challenge especially during the Covid time. Covid made international traveling so difficult. Not only were the plane tickets unrealistically expensive, the travel restriction made me unable to visit my family for almost five years. During the time of constant worry and anxiety, I also had to go through all the visa process so that I would be able to work to support myself. But while waiting for the visa to get approved, I basically have no income. Because Covid slowed the entire world (and visa process), the only thing I was able to do was to keep making my work to keep myself busy.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My current series of work involves series of enameled kiln formed glass in order to talk about the perspective of contemporary women and bringing more people’s attention to women’s issues. It examines the relationship between individuals and the outside world from the unique perspective of the Chinese women’s cultural experiences.

Traditional Chinese culture often uses symbolic images to suggest human status through natural plants and animals. In the narrative of my work, symbolic imageries are utilized as a poetic way to talk about the experience of contemporary Chinese women in this cultural background.

I am drawn to the transparent and subtle qualities of glass. In people’s life, glass often serves as a medium connecting the internal and external environment, so that people living in the interior can visually feel the natural changes of light and shadow outside. The age-old tradition of painting on glass allows the light to take part in illuminating the enamel which creates a comforting effect, allowing the viewer of my work to reflect inward in regards to my enameled imagery. This method of storytelling allows the viewer to contemplate the societal norms and find ways to reconcile with society to minimize the overwhelming struggle between the internal darkness of the viewer and the external society, which often causes individual problems. While many women experience societal hardships, we all have the ability to heal from these situations.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Both of my parents were art teachers before they retired. My father specialized in
ceramics and Chinese calligraphy while my mother taught painting
and fashion design. My favorite memory was when they took me to their studio when I was little. I would run around looking at their work or listening them and their friends talking about art or their story. The best part was always when they gave me some paint and brushes, that would keep me busy for an entire afternoon working on my sketch book. I painted and drew whatever was in my mind and whatever I was interested for my entire childhood. My parents then professionally trained me and encouraged me to follow my passion towards art. Even though the journey took me overseas and, eventually, to Toledo

Contact Info:

• Instagram: chuchen_glass