Christine Wang, an American artist born in 1985, is known for her striking paintings that blend photorealistic images with text, often drawing from internet memes and popular culture. Her work critically engages with themes such as current events, pop culture, sexual desire, and cognitive dissonance, using humor and sardonic commentary to explore deeper societal issues.
Wang's paintings frequently evoke the concept of "cringe," a feeling of secondary embarrassment. She defines cringe as involving two perspectives: the person being judged and the observer feeling the embarrassment. This dynamic is evident in her use of internet memes and recontextualized images of celebrities, which create an uncanny effect through their near-photorealistic yet imperfect representations.
Additionally, Wang serves as an Associate Professor of Painting and Drawing at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Her educational background includes a BFA from The Cooper Union and an MFA from UCLA.