Open Wall

“Open Wall” is a large-scale glass installation reinterpreting a section of the great wall for the 2009 Venice Biennale. “Open Wall” was produced out of 2,200 inscribed handmade Murano glass bricks. The installation re-establishes the Great Wall of China into a contemporary context and serves to illuminate China's emerging role in a global context.

Abacus

Inspired by her Chinese heritage, "Abacus" brings the ancient form of calculation back into the modern world. The composition represents the range of years that the abacus was invented (1046-771 BC) and serves to remind us of it’s importance and cultural relevance in history.

Bamboo Forest

Inspired by Italy's rich tradition of bold colors and graphics, "Bamboo" is a marriage of Sheng's Chinese heritage and her mastery of handmade Murano glass. The piece was awarded "Best Public Artwork" by Taiwan's Minister of Culture in 2007.

Musical Bell

Bianzhong, musical bells, are a crucial instrument of ancient China. Used in royal performances and ceremonies, these clear, bright-sounding bells were designed with 5 octaves.

Contemporary visual artist Shan Shan Sheng revisits the notion of the bianzhong musical bell, creating a public art installation that integrates sound, color, and movement.  Visitors can activate the bells, not through touch, but by proximity. The bells sense the proximity of the viewers, and emit a harmonic sound when they walk by or pass their hands near the audience. The viewers become sound-makers, creating a ripple effect amongst the audience. The possible combination of notes is endless.

Active Memories

Active Memory 2012. Venetian hand-blown glass, stainless steel height 16ft x width 8ft x 4ft depth. Through the City’s two-percent-for-art program, the San Francisco Arts Commission has commissioned the new public artworks by San Francisco-based artists Shan Shan Sheng for the new Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center. While very distinct, artworks celebrate ancient art forms with strong roots in Chinese culture and history.

Suspended Poetry

Suspended Poetry is 120 h x 36 inch diameter, the material is Venetian hand-blown glass, with stainless steel aircraft cable. The artwork consists of approximately 100 Chinese characters, meshing three Ancient Chinese poems, with an emphasis on the arrival of early spring, flower blooming, rain drop, and garden coming to life. The choice of the colors is based on Chinese traditional Ming Dynasty blue white porcelain.

Bamboo Ever-Rising

Located in the Mandarin Hotel in Miami, FL, the piece is installed with a light on a reflecting pool evoking the oasis of a bamboo forest. Sheng combines painterly precision with sculptural mastery to form elegant, glass forms that heighten the transparent and layered quality of natural bamboo.