Artist · Researcher · Writer

Language, material, and the rituals that shape everyday life.

A new digital home for Scarlett Guan’s practice. This space brings together current work, research, and writing.

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Recent writing

The Museum Gift Shop Is Where Radical Art Goes to Become Tasteful

The museum gift shop is where difficult art learns to behave. A work that entered the gallery carrying grief, rage, historical violence, sexual refusal, anticolonial critique, class resentment, religious rupture, or political danger may leave as a tote bag, a mug, a silk scarf, a postcard, a candle, a magnet, a notebook, a limited-edition print, […]

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Handmade Has Become the Art World’s Favorite Way to Disguise Labor

“Handmade” is one of the most efficient laundering devices in contemporary culture. It turns labor into atmosphere, exhaustion into charm, and unequal production into an image of care. The word appears everywhere now: museum shops, biennial wall texts, luxury campaigns, lifestyle boutiques, design fairs, artist editions, Instagram storefronts, and e-commerce filters. It arrives softened by […]

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Poetry Paintings: Coal, Ash, and the Materiality of Resistance

This series of five paintings marks my first attempt to stabilize fragile materials such as coal dust, ash, and rust on 30×40 cm canvas. Each work draws directly from classical Chinese poetry—Du Fu’s vision of Mount Tai, Li Bai’s waterfall, Zhang Ruoxu’s moonlit river, Wang Zhihuan’s setting sun, and Lin Bu’s pavilion amid shadows. The […]

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