ARTIST STATEMENT
Rooted in nostalgia for her carefree childhood, Xinchen’s work employs a narrative approach to tell stories of her surroundings, weaving together memories and symbolism. Initially focused on small-scale jewelry, she has expanded her practice from wearables to installation-based sculptures. Xinchen’s installation practice is shaped by experiences of migration and the impermanence of home. Having moved frequently in recent years, often leaving behind furniture and personal belongings, she became interested in how material objects embody memory, identity, and belonging. This inquiry led her to recreate furniture from her family home using a 3D printing pen and translucent PLA filament.
The resulting sculptures are fragile and semi-transparent, echoing the way memories shift between presence and absence, fact and fiction. These installations invite viewers to reflect on their own attachments to objects and places, while also opening conversations about displacement and resilience. By scaling up personal artifacts into immersive environments, Xinchen transforms private memory into shared experience. Whether as wearable pieces or immersive installations, her work positions material storytelling to navigate memory, migration, and cultural identity.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Xinchen Li is a jewelry artist and sculptor from China, currently based in the United States. She earned her BFA from the University of Kansas and completed her MFA at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her work has been recognized with the Women’s Jewelry Association June Herman Scholarship, The ALL Prize, and the Mixed Media Category Winner at the 38th Materials: Hard + Soft International Contemporary Craft Competition. She has participated in the Artist Residency Project at the School of Visual Arts and exhibited internationally, including MAD About Jewelry at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, Munich Jewelry Week in Germany, and her solo exhibition at Arts + Literature Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin and Richmond Art Center in Richmond, California. Her work has also been featured in Jewelry and Metalsmithing Survey, Create! Magazine, Vogue China, and more.
© Xinchen Li