Wallace Chan’s Vessels of Other Worlds: Sculpting light, time, and the invisible across Venice and Shanghai

At 70, Wallace Chan continues to redefine the boundaries between material mastery, philosophical inquiry, and human perception. The China-born, self-taught artist, celebrated for his gemstone carvings, monumental titanium sculptures, and immersive installations - is preparing to unveil Vessels of Other Worlds, a dual-site exhibition that will occupy Venice and Shanghai in 2026. What distinguishes Chan’s work is not only its technical mastery and scale but the profound confluence of craft, philosophy, and presence that animates every object he creates.

Meeting Chan in person is disarming. There is an equilibrium to his manner, a serenity that is neither performative nor ornamental. Each word he utters, even in casual conversation, carries a weight that invites reflection; speaking with him feels like an apprenticeship in perception itself. His sculptures are extensions of a contemplative life, each surface and detail a locus of intention, memory, and light. Speaking with Chan is not like speaking with an artist who works with material things; it is like speaking with someone who has mastered the art of living itself. That intersection - between philosophical inquiry and technical virtuosity - is what renders his work so singular. Each sculpture is suffused with hidden complexity; it takes time to apprehend the full measure of what Chan has achieved, as every form, surface, and detail carries significance.

The Venice presentation of Vessels of Other Worlds will occupy the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà from May to October 2026, while the Shanghai iteration will reside at the Long Museum from July to October. In Venice, three titanium sculptures - drawn from the sacred Catholic oils, the Olea Sancta - will represent birth, growth, and death. Smaller, suspended elements will hover around the main forms like drops of oil frozen in motion, creating a space that will feel simultaneously liquid, temporal, and sacred. Video screens will transmit footage of the Shanghai exhibition into Venice, allowing the two sites to exist in a simultaneous temporal and spatial dialogue.

In Shanghai, the vessels will reach monumental scale: the central sculpture will rise ten metres high, inviting visitors to step inside and experience a kaleidoscopic interior, where mirrored surfaces will fracture and multiply light. Chan’s Wallace Cut gemstone technique will animate the space, producing an interplay of reflection, colour, and perception that will be rigorous, intricate, and hypnotically beautiful. Earlier works from Venice - including the Brian Eno–soundscaped Transcendence, Titans, and Totem - will be displayed alongside, creating a conceptual dialogue that will bridge decades of his practice.

“I’m always searching for my own existence,” Chan explained, “the work is material, physical, spiritual - but it all originates in gemstone carving. When I cut gemstones, I am also cutting light. Light lets you into different realities. Sometimes you don’t see clearly, but that doesn’t mean what you see is not real.”

This fascination with liminality - the threshold between reality and illusion - runs through every aspect of the exhibition. Light is not a simple instrument; it is a collaborator. Sound functions in equal measure, its vibrations guiding the rhythm and gesture of each piece. “When I am carving or hammering on my materials, I work according to the sound. The sound gives me information about how the materials feel at the time,” he said. “Light and sound together are embodiments of existence.” Brooches embedded in the sculptures, shaped like “rootless teardrops of water”, capture the movement of life itself - free and constantly changing.

Child figures recur across his work, serving as both symbolic and formal devices. The number of children varies: one child may be contemplative or solitary; two may engage in dialogue or play; three may contend or debate; four may represent the seasons. “The child’s perspective keeps me curious,” Chan said. “Curiosity gives inspiration. Numbers can imply a lot of stories and symbols. One child may prefer to be alone; two may be in dialogue; three may create debate; four may represent cycles in nature.” This numerological system, combined with his fascination with light and reflection, allows his sculptures to convey multiple layers of meaning simultaneously.

Despite the proliferation of AI in contemporary creative practice, Chan remains sceptical of its utility in his work. “AI can generate tons of different things, different versions of one object. But it can never generate what I want. It cannot have personality, it cannot have nuance. I look at technologies as challenges, to see how human ingenuity can exceed them.” Technology, in his view, is not a substitute for craft but a foil, a measure against which human skill is tested.

Creating Vessels of Other Worlds required embracing the unknown. “The biggest challenge is to be in the unknown. I didn’t know whether it could be made. I started anyway,” Chan said. Structural stability, form, and scale all presented obstacles, yet the most profound challenge was philosophical: walking into the unknown and trusting that what one envisioned could come to life.

At 70, Chan’s reflections are suffused with spiritual and philosophical clarity. “All religions are philosophies,” he said. “You learn, practice, become enlightened, and then forget everything you have learned and start over. The most important thing is to take the goodness from all the knowledge you encounter. That is the cycle of life and creation.” Every detail in his work, from the largest vessel to the smallest brooch, embodies this principle. Meaning is accrued through observation, contemplation, and immersion. Nothing is incidental; every surface and contour carries intention.

Asked about the future of art, Chan expressed cautious optimism. “It is most interesting to see what happens if you bring technologies and hands-on craftsmanship together. It gives art another level. For now, I feel hopeful. Technology allows people to realise their visions with more tools than ever before. But as an artist, you must arrive before the future arrives. You cannot wait. You must make it happen.”

Vessels of Other Worlds is not an exhibition of objects; it is an exploration of temporality, perception, and the interstitial spaces where life and art converge. From Venice to Shanghai, Chan offers audiences an invitation to move through a universe shaped by light, sound, reflection, and philosophical rigor. Each sculpture is a meditation on existence, a testament to curiosity, and a challenge to perception itself. Experiencing the exhibition is to witness the culmination of a lifetime’s devotion to craft, thought, and the pursuit of the ineffable.