“Xuan’s visual world responds not by illustrating the music but by conversing with it, challenging it, and occasionally surprising it. The result is an immersive theatrical experience that explores the relationship between technology and humanity while expanding our understanding of both.” - ART SPIELXuan is a new media artist, filmmaker, and pianist working at the intersection of music, visual art, and technology. A classically trained pianist with a passion for visual music, she actively develops innovative, cross-disciplinary projects that broaden the scope of performance practice. Driven by alterity, asymmetry and multicultural identity, her work encompasses abstract scenography, experimental animation, music video, audio-visual installations, site-responsive forms, and large-scale projection mapping.
Collaborative projects include feature-length multimedia concerts with acclaimed musicians: High Heart with jazz saxophonist Ben Wendel, it feels like a dream with pianist Eunbi Kim, Ex Machina with pianist Clara Yang, Shifting Ground with violinist Alexi Kenney, and Three Bones, a three-hour triptych with Kronos Quartet.
Her work has been seen at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), The Smithsonian Museum of Art (Washington D.C.), The Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus), The Library of Congress (Washington D.C.), The Atlantic Center for the Arts (New Smyrna), Logan Center for the Arts (Chicago), Yale Schwarzman Center (New Haven), Baryshnikov Art Center (NY), New World Center (Miami Beach), The Ojai Music Festival (Ojai), Sound Forms (Hong Kong), MATA Festival (Brooklyn), CAN Festival (Zhoushan), Continuum Festival (Memphis), Ad Astra Music Festival (Russel), Southern Exposure (Columbia), Mizzou Int’l Composers Festival (MO), Indie Grits Festival (SC), Int’l Short Film Festival (Limassol), Houston Music Festival (TX), The Rail Yards (Albuquerque), ATLAS B2 (Boulder), Digital Biennale (Zürich), Refresh Festival (Zürich), Digital Graffiti (Alys Beach), ibug Festival für Urbane Kunst (Leipzig, Saxony, and Flöha, DE), RESCUE Residency in Santo Stefano di Magra (Italy), and Gallery ErsterErster (Berlin), Le Poisson Rouge (NY), The Pearl (Vancouver), The Burrow (Melbourne), Roulette (NY), National Sawdust (Brooklyn), EMPAC at RPI (Troy), and Carnegie Hall (NY).
Of the belief that art is for everyone, Xuan’s evolving practice explores collective experiences through public art. In 2021, she was invited by Art on theMART to create projections for the 2.5-acre façade of the Merchandise Mart in collaboration with GRAMMY-winning sextet Eighth Blackbird. The Light of the Dark could be seen on kayaks, boats, bikes, the L train, and even airplanes.
Xuan has studied piano performance with Dr. Nelita True at the Eastman School of Music and Media Spaces at the BTK University of Art and Design in Berlin, DE. She is a fellow of OneBeat 9 and the Blackbird Creative Lab.