Yichen Li

Yichen Li (b.1996, now works and lives in Shanghai) received her MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art, London. She has been awarded Runner-up for Sculpture Design at the Chanel NEXT Award, Chanel Headquarters, France, and Finalist for the Woodworking Award of the Year, Heritage Crafts Awards, UK, Heritage Crafts Foundation.Her work has been included in the public collections of LVMH, FENDI, CINDY CHAO, X Museum, Luo Zhongli Art Museum and Fengyuzhu Building.

Her practice explores the notion of the "barrier/screen" in sculpture, re-examining East Asian traditions by integrating the screen's historical function as spatial divider and image-bearer with contemporary material research. This approach yields a methodology marked by both ritual and material enquiry. In her carving process, the grain, temperature, and scent of wood become subjects of close attention, as natural properties and manual labour intertwine to inform the work's internal structure. Through meticulous detail, she deploys light and negative space as operative elements, creating spatial installations that resonate both visually and psychologically.