About

Ruotai Tang (b. 2002, Zhengzhou, China) is an artist based in New York. He received his BFA in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in 2025.

Tang’s practice examines how materials take on states that are not determined by themselves, but by the positions into which they are placed. Branches, stones, soil, and wood do not inherently possess structural roles; yet when they are supported, leaned, held, or wedged into place, they must appear as though they belong there. This condition is not naturally resolved but temporarily sustained: a state in which something stands, though not quite of that place; supports, though not originally meant to.

Slight misalignments, partial contact, or barely maintained balance are not flaws to be corrected, but the way structure actually comes into being. These arrangements appear sufficient, yet never fully confirmed. The work does not aim to stabilize or complete them, but keeps this provisional state visible. Structure does not arrive as a fixed condition, but forms through being placed, held, maintained, and momentarily made to stand.