For 20 years Jan-Ru Wan has been re-using found objects, especially those that have been discarded from industrial factories, in her sculpture/installation work thereby re-inventing their purpose.
During the past two decades she has been awarded many major artist residencies and has participated in 24 solo exhibitions and 44 group exhibitions, both national and international. In 2006, she was recognized with the “Gold” award from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; the Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) award. Wan is also is the recipient of a 2008 North Carolina Visual Art Fellowship.
As a fiber arts educator, Wan held tenure-track professor positions at East Carolina University (2004-2008) and North Carolina State University (2008-2010). From 2012-2014 Wan was awarded artist residencies in Morocco, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In her sculptural forms and site-specific work, Wan is exceptionally strong conceptually and sensitively mixes materials to maximize their ability to evoke emotional responses.
