Xinyao Chen

Collection, Collage, Reconstruction, Narrative—

    Xinyao Chen ‘s creative practice begins with the accumulation of everyday fragments. Supermarket receipts, flyers, packaging paper—these printed materials, often discarded without a second thought, become the narrative materials of her work.

    As an artist and illustrator from China, Chen Xinyao uses illustration and art books as her mediums. She is fascinated by the tactile warmth of handmade creation and the printing process, weaving stories uniquely her own.

    “The Everyday” is the central theme of Chen Xinyao’s artistic practice. With keen observation, she captures overlooked urban landscapes and collects the unconscious traces left by human behavior. Through the visual language of deconstruction and collage, she transforms ordinary life fragments into new narratives rich with metaphor.

    At the same time, “pink” has become a signature in her work. Like viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses, she employs romantic, delicate, and childlike strokes to depict the mundane, even dark aspects of urban life. These reassembled image fragments are both her tender gaze upon reality and her unique expression of the easily overlooked.

    In her artistic philosophy, the artist is a translator who transforms private archives into public spectacles. Xinyao Chen’s creations always focus on and ponder the question of “what is worth recording”. She excels at revealing the profound through the minute—lost gloves, receipts tucked deep in wallets, or fleeting images captured while walking. After being deconstructed and reconstructed, these small objects can narrate individual life experiences while also reflecting the warmth of collective memory. By placing familiar objects in unfamiliar contexts, she believes that personal stories, even without grand vessels, can carry deeply moving power.

    “My work constantly asks: Which moments are worth preserving? When we cut out the ‘apple’ from a supermarket ad and paste it onto a postcard of park trees, are we documenting life or reinventing it?” These questions, with no definitive answers, may well be the very meaning of creation.