Meet: Qianze Zhang

Fathomers has a new intern, as part of the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program.

Fathomers welcomes our newest intern, Qianze Zhang, as part of the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program. A student at the University of Southern California, Qianze has a rich background exploring the relationship between art and algorithmic systems and brings a valuable, fresh aspect of criticality in arts and culture to Fathomers.

A former software engineering intern at Adobe and the writing editor and web developer for USC’s art publication Roski Mag, Qianze is majoring in computer science and minoring in art history and 2-D studies. With such a unique combination of studies, the Maryland native explains, “The more visible or commercial intersections of art and technology, like coding and graphic design work, don't fascinate me as much as the underlying systems and processes that go into computer science and art making.”

She points to Charles Gaines' recent exhibition Palm Trees and Other Works, at Hauser and Wirth, as a memorable instance of seeing her interests aligned. 

“His application of systems and algorithmic, step-by-step method to his art practice transcended art making with the message that beauty is constructed and not necessarily the result of truth,” says Qianze. “The systematic way in which he created the art itself served as a proof to this.” 

Intrigued by an art world existing outside the traditional realm of convention, Qianze was attracted to Fathomers’ distinct multifaceted approach to the artistic process and artist relationships. During her internship, Qianze will have the opportunity to delve into this unique form of research-driven work with Fathomers ongoing projects like multi-sited 12 Earths with Michael Jones Mckean, the exploration of dark materialities with Ni’Ja Whitson, and a new bioart research initiative. 

Fathomers’ commitment to challenge and push the limits of what it means to support artist-led projects offered the unique and fresh model of work that Qianze searched for as she considers post-graduate work. “I had never seen another organization work with artists in such a collaborative and liberating way,” she says. 

We are grateful to have you on the team, Qianze, and can’t wait to see your amazing work during your time with us!