At a Glance
- What
Guest House: Welcome Home, Zhou Xuerong’s first U.S. exhibition
- When
September 11–27, 2026
- Where
The Wang Contemporary, 58 Bowery, New York, NY
- Hours
Friday–Sunday, noon–6 p.m. EDT
- Admission
Free; advance registration required
- Coverage
- Explore coverage
- Details
- What to Know
TheNakedNYC coverage
TheNakedNYC on Instagram: Zhou Xuerong Brings Guest House to Chinatown.
What to Know
Six Scenes of Daily Life
A tea table, a calligraphy brush and a wok help set the scenes in Zhou Xuerong's Guest House: Welcome Home. Ten life-size figures take part in six activities: drinking tea, practicing calligraphy, inserting acupuncture needles, cooking, sharing a meal and playing the erhu. The erhu is a two-stringed fiddle.
The Wang Contemporary links these staged domestic scenes to the work of American photographer Gregory Crewdson. Here, figures with familiar Western faces appear in settings drawn from Chinese daily life.
Familiar Faces in New Roles
The figures are unnamed, with apparent likenesses of Taylor Swift, Madonna, Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell and Paris Hilton among them.
The Wang Contemporary describes the sculptures as original interpretations. The exhibition is not sponsored, affiliated with or endorsed by the people they may resemble.
Why Each Figure Wears Qipao
Every figure wears a qipao. The Wang Contemporary traces the garment to loose military gowns worn by Qing Dynasty nobles. Its exhibition text follows the dress into early 20th-century Shanghai, where tailors drew on Western design. They narrowed the waist and skirt and lengthened the side slit.
Making the Figures
DXDF (Grand Orient Wax Art) says it made all ten figures in silicone. Its process brings together facial structure, skin texture, hair, posture, clothing and props. Coloring, hair work and styling finish each figure.
Zhou leads a team of more than 50 artisans. Individual sculptures take months to complete, with traditional handcraft used alongside techniques such as 3D scanning.
From Zhongshan to New York
Zhou works in Zhongshan, China, and has three decades of experience. The Wang Contemporary credits her with more than 900 wax figures through Grand Orient Wax Art. Guest House: Welcome Home is her first U.S. exhibition.
The collaboration followed Alexander Wang's visit to her studio in Guangdong earlier in 2026.
An Exhibition in a Former Bank
Ying Wang and her son, fashion designer Alexander Wang, founded The Wang Contemporary to present Asian and Asian-American creativity. Their organization occupies 58 Bowery, a former bank at Bowery and Canal Streets. The building dates to 1924 and received landmark status in 2011.
