Tastemaker: Shae Wu
On art history, film photography, and beauty in the mundane
Welcome to Tastemakers, our ongoing interview series spotlighting people with great taste—how they live, create, and notice what others miss.
Meet Shae Wu, a product manager by day and art lover by night. She also happens to be one of Lexi’s dear friends from their early days working in e-comm.
For our conversation together, we spent the afternoon roaming The Met, admiring European masterpieces from the 17th century, and hearing what it was like for Shae to study Art History at Columbia.
Shae sees the world in a way that inspires. No detail goes unnoticed: from the way the light hits a window, to a sweet, simple moment between an elderly couple walking through the museum. Her romanticism is infectious, helping us all see beauty in the ordinary.
👀 S.C.O.U.T—Shae’s Take
Seeing | In The Mood For Love by Wong Kar Wai—the IFC Center screened the classic romantic drama in honor of the film’s 25th anniversary. I’d never seen this film and it felt appropriate to watch it for the first time on a big screen. This one’s for all the fellow yearners out there.
Consuming | Studio Bumi—an Indonesian communal dining experience hosted by Bagus Ruswandi. It’s a giant dinner party with truly delicious food, and it’s impossible to leave without having made a new friend.
On The Way Out | Screen time—I’m doing a free trial of Opal to help restrict apps during set times. I’ve tried other focus apps before, but this has been the most effective in reducing my screentime so far.
Unearthing | Notes app outfit organization—earlier this year, I stumbled upon the idea of using the iPhone Notes app to organize and catalog outfits. As someone who typically dumps all my outfit photos in one giant photo folder, I loved the simplicity of this technique. I can confirm it’s made getting ready easier! I use two different formats: by temperature and by event.
Trying | A summer reading list—in an effort to get myself out of a bit of a reading slump, I wrote out a middle school-style summer reading list with a wide variety of genres. It was so effective I ended up reading twelve (!) books this summer.
❤️🔥 In The Spotlight with Shae Wu
Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi I’m Sharon, but my friends call me Shae.
I’m a New Yorker (11 years of living here means I can call myself that, right?) and a lover of art museums, film photography, and travel.
For my 9-5, I work as a product manager for a website at a beauty company; otherwise, you can find me hanging at home with my dog Hans or maximizing my PTO days in a foreign country.
At my core, I’m an appreciator of beauty in the world. If you need someone to point out how the light is shining through the window or how beautifully a bowl is placed on a table, I’m your gal.
How do you describe your taste in three words?
Joyful, authentic, artistic.
What is your favorite object in your home?
My little gallery by my desk. I put it together in a frenzy at 2am one night after a tedious day of work.
It’s a combination of postcards from places I’ve traveled to and art museums I’ve visited, a watercolor drawn by a friend, a photograph of myself and my grandparents on my first birthday.
Whenever I’m working from home and feeling uncreative, I look over and feel inspired again by the warmth of my collection.
What is one ritual you can’t live without?
Documentation. I’m always going to be that person who is documenting and I’m not ashamed of it! I’m a collector of memories.
What are some of your personal signatures, the details that feel distinctly you?
Le Labo’s THÉ NOIR 29 fragrance – If I’m wearing perfume, it’s almost always this one. This fragrance strikes the perfect balance between masculine and feminine, blending woody cedarwood and musk with the bright notes of bergamot and fig. It’s also the number one thing strangers compliment me on.
Birthday cards that are love letters – One of my favorite things to do is write long and sentimental birthday cards for friends. I like to think of it as a yearly love letter, capturing moments we’ve shared throughout the year and reminding them why they’re so dear to me.
Google docs of travel recommendations – I’m outing myself as such a Virgo for this, but I’m obsessed with planning trips and writing up lists of recommendations afterwards. I’ve been known to share a great travel rec list!
Name one piece of art that changed the way you see the world? Why?
Ragnar Kjartansson’s The Visitors, 2012. It’s an hour-long video installation consisting of nine screens, each showing a different room in a manor with a musician playing the same song on loop.
The way the video and sound are installed in the room creates this effect of both grandeur and intimacy that evokes an emotional response in everyone I know who’s also experienced it.
I don’t want to completely spoil it so I’ll just say- this is the singular piece of art that has brought me closest to emotional catharsis.
While I was in that room, I felt a greater appreciation for the art of living and the human experience. Please go out of your way to see this, I promise you won’t regret it.
What did studying art history teach you about storytelling and perspective?
I fell into art history by chance. During my senior year of high school, I was assigned a presentation on romantic art for my AP European History class. The painting I had to present on was JMW Turner’s Rain, Steam, and Speed and its connection to the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain. My family took a trip to London for the first time that spring and the moment I saw the painting at the National Gallery everything just clicked.
For the first time, I could see Turner’s critique and admiration of technology in a changing world in each paint stroke and placement of color. This is how art history has impacted the way I view the world – it reminds me that everything is situated within broader context and the beauty of art is not only the art itself, but also within individual interpretation.
Give us your favorite museums in three cities.
The Met in NYC. How could I not include this! The Met place holds so much sentimental value for me, having spent many hours of my undergrad years in its halls.
Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. A contemporary art museum with architecturally stunning interiors, located right on the Øresund sea. Bonus points if you go for a dip in the water after a day of art.
Casa Gilardi in Mexico City, the last home designed by architect Luis Barragán. The tour is led by the son of the people who lived in the home. It’s incredibly meditative and gave me a greater appreciation for modern architecture.
What’s a photo you’ve taken that you feel most proud of—and what makes it special to you?
I took this film photo of my best friend in Grundtvigs Church in Copenhagen. I’m really proud of the composition, between the architectural lines and the light filtering through the windows. It really captures the meditative nature of the moment.
And lastly, who is your favorite tastemaker?
I adore Anna-Laura Sullivan’s art (@annalauraart). Her cartoons are like a hug and warm cup of tea from an old friend. It reminds me to see the magic in the mundane and infuse love in my daily life.
Know a tastemaker worth spotlighting or want to be featured yourself? Enlighten us here. 💌
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