The Chinese artist Siyang Ziui Chen’s practice of art is a reflection upon the nuances of etiquette. Trained as a child in the traditions of calligraphy – a discipline in which she has won numerous prizes in China and Japan – she was introduced to classical western painting equally early by professor Lv Shuzhong, head of department at the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts. Several years later, she was selected to enter the aforementioned Academy in order to advance her education and her artistic practice there.

Conscious of the changes that occurred in China at the beginning of the century, she chose to develop an interest in the field of design as a response to these new transformations. She thus entered the Tsinghua University in 2003 where she studied exhibition design. In 2010, and at that time still dedicated to bettering the world through design, she left China to improve herself in the United States.

Established in Michigan (2013), Siyang began developing a personal artistic practice based on her international experience, range of fine art painting, drawing, and calligraphic skills. Nowadays, she is devoted exclusively to the pursuit of portraying the anonymity of etiquette in the contemporary world. Examining the subtle versus the stark contrast of eastern and western interpretations of etiquette and its portrayal as human versus animal, a duality that reflects on the character and identity of a being.