- email chwu@massart.edu
- phone 617-879-7919
-
education
- MFA, Furniture Design, Rhode Island School of Design
- BFA, Design, University of Texas
- pronouns They/Them
Wu Hanyen is an artist, designer, and maker whose practice is rooted in woodworking, furniture, and the relationship between craft and the body. Their work considers how designed objects can support movement, physical awareness, and everyday rituals, bringing together traditional making techniques with an interest in care, function, and embodied experience. Wu is the founder of Work in Use, a studio practice focused on furniture, sculptural objects, and movement tools designed for everyday use.
Before entering academia, Wu spent five years working as a production furniture maker in New York City. They earned an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA in Design from the University of Texas at Austin. Their teaching and creative practice draw on experience in woodworking, furniture design, fabrication, and interdisciplinary approaches to making.
Community, collaboration, and shared learning are central to Wu’s practice. They have been an Endowed Fellow at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship and an Open Studio Resident at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. In 2025–2026, Wu was selected as a Creative Artist Fellow of the Japan–U.S. Friendship Commission, traveling throughout Japan to study traditional and contemporary woodworking practices with craftspeople and makers. Wu is an Associate Professor of Sculpture at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Industry Experience
2019-Present – Founder, Work in Use, Providence, RI
2013-2017 – Lead Builder, Egg Collective, Brooklyn, NY
2012-2013 – Furniture Maker, Asher Israelow, Brooklyn, NY
Exhibitions
2020 – “Fall River Makes!,” Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery, Fall River, MA
2019 – “Next Level,” 718 Broadway, New York, NY
2019 – Furniture Design Triennial, Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
2019 – Pop-up by Work In Use, Salon Gallery, Boston, MA
2018 – Furniture Design Graduate Biennial, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, RI
Awards
2020 – Nomination for the USA Fellowship, United States Artists, Chicago, IL
2019 – NYCxDesign Awards Emerging Product Designer Finalist, New York, NY
2017-2019 – Graduate Fellowship, Department of Furniture Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2017-2018 – Merit Based Scholarship, UrbanGlass, Brooklyn, NY
2018 – Summer Intensive Scholarship, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
2011 – Nomination for Windgate Fellowship award, Hendersonville, NC
2010-2012 – Edward Triggs Endowed Scholarship in Design, University of Texas, Austin, TX
