Yingqi ‘Puffy’ Zhao

BIO

Yingqi ‘Puffy’ Zhao is a contemporary jeweler and co-founder of Wanlie License jewelry brand and Wanlie Project artist platform. She holds an MFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design from Indiana University Bloomington, and a BFA in Crafts with a concentration in Metals from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Zhao is a University of Illinois 2016 Bronze Tablet Scholar. Her work has been published in books including Handouts from the 21st Century Part III, and magazines including 2019 Jewelry and Metalsmithing Survey.

Artist Statement

[blank] is …

translucent green, metallic gray, iridescent sheen;

caged gem, wire & solid, portal of parallel dimension;

today’s fiction, tomorrow’s anthropology, experiment log;

50% wakefulness, one cup of sleep talk, routine brain walk.

There are two identities living inside the physical me. One of the duos is blank, calm, logical, organized, and restricted; the other one is full, dramatic, emotional, chaotic, and free. My practice is a push and pull between “making sure all surfaces are 100% parallel to one another” and “breaking every single pattern to find peace in chaos”, and my ongoing daily ritual of inputting stimulus, emotion, and memory while outputting wearable art for the world. I explore the inspiring odds and ends, the balance of hard surface and soft line, and the dynamic between the wearer and the object.

Exhibitions