Wendy Maruyama is an artist and educator from San Diego, California and has been making furniture since 1970. Trained initially as a furniture maker/traditional woodworker, Maruyama's work is known for its deviation from the norm in the field of studio furniture. Her various bodies of work were often inspired by extended residencies and visits to various countries such as France, England, Japan, Korea and China.

Most recently her work has taken on stylistic influences from Asia. Born in La Junta, Colorado, to second-generation Japanese American parents, she has made several pilgrimages to the land of her heritage, Japan. At times reverent of Japan’s craft history and advanced technology, and appalled by Japan’s self-indulgent, materialistic and almost faceless and patriarchal society, Maruyama vacillates between creating works that both emulate and satirize contemporary Japan.

Her most recent works embed videos into furniture forms. In the exhibition “Inspired by China”, Maruyama’s “Vanity” features a two-way mirror, behind which a monitor plays a video of an Asian woman applying eye makeup, alternating between accentuating the slant in her eyes, and trying to make them rounder. This recalls Maruyama’s high school days in the late 60’s where young Asian-American girls tried desperately to make themselves look more "American", and envied the ‘round-eyes’. See link to "Video Work".