London-based artist Masao (Zhengxiong) Rong is emerging as an exciting voice in contemporary visual art, design, and craft. His work explores how traditional craftsmanship can inform modern aesthetics while engaging with sustainability and cultural heritage. Beyond gallery spaces, his practice extends into public art, creating immersive environments that invite interaction and reflection.
Material, Process, and Philosophy
For Masao, making is an act of negotiation between past and present, tradition and reinvention. A 2023 graduate of the Royal College of Art, he approaches craftsmanship as a way to explore cultural friction—how inherited techniques can be both preserved and challenged. His work raises questions about authenticity, adaptation, and how objects mediate our understanding of identity in an increasingly globalized world.
Beyond the gallery, Masao engages with public space, using materials as a bridge between history and contemporary experience. His site-specific works often incorporate salvaged or locally sourced materials, transforming them into new forms that question how cultural memory is constructed and reinterpreted. Whether through sculpture, furniture, or large-scale installations, his practice invites viewers to reconsider their relationship with material, history, and place.
Notable Works
His furniture series THE TREE (2023) highlights his commitment to sustainability and traditional craft. Using coppiced sweet chestnut wood from Haslemere, Surrey, each piece is hand-split and assembled by local artisans. By reviving this centuries-old forestry technique, Masao transforms functional objects into sculptural works that challenge our perception of nature and consumption.
His series Tsugiki, shortlisted for the Wood Awards UK 2024, draws inspiration from the Japanese tradition of architectural restoration. Made from reclaimed beams of century-old farm barns, the collection reinterprets ideas of repair and cultural preservation, questioning what is considered worth saving and how history is rewritten through objects.
Masao also explores public art, using site-specific materials and techniques to create installations that reshape our experience of urban and natural spaces. These works often reflect on cultural displacement, memory, and evolving traditions, inviting viewers to engage with art in unexpected ways.
A Growing Presence
Masao’s work balances tradition with innovation, blending historical craftsmanship with contemporary design. His pieces are represented by Mint Gallery in London, marking a key moment in his career.
His upcoming exhibitions include a public art showcase at Blackpool School of Art in April and a feature in London Craft Week’s Future Icons Selects in May. As his practice evolves, Masao continues to push the boundaries of how art, design, and craft can interact, offering fresh perspectives on storytelling, cultural identity, and sustainability in today’s world.
For more of his work, visit www.masaorong.com or follow him on Instagram: @masao_rong.
