In summer 2026, Wallace Chan: Vessels of Other Worlds will take place as a dual-site exhibition in Venice and Shanghai. Birth, a 7-meter-tall titanium sculpture weighing 4.6 tons, is the first sculpture of the Vessels of Other Worlds series. Inspired by sacred oil vessels, it is a metaphor for the origin of humanity.

Composed of over 5,500 titanium parts, 1,500 aluminum components, and nearly 20,000 steel screws, it contains 725 gears and 922 human figures — interlocking like fate, standing as witnesses to the endlessness of time. As light enters, materials and spirit seemingly breathe as one. It is a vessel that holds nothing; yet, it contains everything.

Artist Wallace Chan

Wallace Chan (1956–) began as a carver in 1973, at the age of 16. He is an artist and innovator. His curiosity has driven numerous breakthroughs over the past half-century, including The Wallace Cut (an illusionary carving technique invented in 1987). After many years of research and experimentation, Chan developed a method of working with titanium, initially for his jewellery creations and more recently for his monumental sculptures.

His works are in the permanent collections of the Shanghai Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Long Museum, the British Museum, the Capital Museum in Beijing, and the Ningbo Museum.

Chan's solo exhibitions have been presented at major institutions worldwide, including the Shanghai Museum; Pietà Chapel, Venice; Christie's in London, Hong Kong and Shanghai; Canary Wharf, London; Fondaco Marcello, Venice; Asia House, London; the Gemological Institute of America Museum; the Capital Museum, Beijing; the Kaohsiung Museum of History; and the Deutsches Edelsteinmuseum.