ShiPu Wang

ShiPu Wang serves as Professor of Art History and the Coats Family Chair in the Arts within the Global Arts Studies Program at the University of California, Merced, where he has been a faculty member since 2006. His distinguished career focuses on pre-World War II American art and visual culture created by diasporic artists of Asian descent.

Wang's research interests span Asian American contributions to modern art, examining how immigrant artists navigated cultural identity and artistic expression in early 20th century America. His scholarly work reveals the complex interplay between ethnic identity and artistic innovation, particularly among Japanese American artists whose careers were often disrupted by wartime internment policies.

His publications demonstrate significant contributions to understanding how Asian diasporic artists shaped American modernism, with particular attention to visual representation, cultural hybridity, and artistic legacy. The international touring exhibition Chiura Obata: An American Modern exemplifies his commitment to bringing underrepresented artistic narratives to broader audiences.

• Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Book Prize (2018)
• Patricia and Phillip Frost Essay Award from Smithsonian American Art Museum (2008)
• Terra Foundation for American Art Senior Fellowship at Smithsonian American Art Museum (2014)

Professor Wang has served on the editorial board of American Art journal since 2018 and was featured in a symposium celebrating the 50th-anniversary special volume for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. His curated exhibition Chiura Obata: An American Modern received major support from the Terra Foundation for American Art and toured internationally through 2020.