Hermetic Worlds and Total Constellations

In her work, which encompasses film, sculpture, installation, and painting, New York-based artist Stella Zhong explores complex concepts such as nuclear semiotics and geometric topologies, as well as everyday materialities like the specific textures of food.

Oscillating between macro- and microcosms, Zhong’s individual works coalesce into overall constellations—worlds unto themselves.

In conversation with curator Martin Germann, Zhong discusses the breadth of her work and offers insights into her first solo exhibition in Germany, which opens at Trautwein Herleth as part of Gallery Weekend.

Stella Zhong (born 1993 in Shenzhen, China) is an artist based in New York City. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Glass from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Yale University. Her work has been shown in exhibitions at Para Site, Hong Kong; Power Station, Dallas; Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul; and SculptureCenter, New York, among others. She has had solo exhibitions throughout Europe, North America, and Asia.

Martin Germann is a curator who lives and works in Berlin and Kyoto. He specializes in site-specific exhibition projects and served as a curator at the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo) until 2025, where he worked on exhibitions such as “Machine Love – Video Games, AI, and Contemporary Art” (2025), “Our Ecology – Toward a Planetary Life” (2023–24), and “A Different Energy – The Power to Continue Taking on Challenges – 16 Female Artists from Around the World” (2021). Previously, he headed the art department at S.M.A.K. in Ghent (2012–2019), served as curator at the Kestner Gesellschaft Hannover (2008–2012), and was a member of the organizing team for the 3rd and 4th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art.

IN ENGLISH

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