YIZHEN SHEN b. 2003 Shanghai, China

Bio
My work is a survival strategy for navigating the treacherous terrains of conflicting ideologies. Making, unmaking, remaking, an unending exercise in dexterity of imagination. I tap into moments of historical entanglement through which identities, objects and desires are continually unmade and remixed in porous, unexpected ways—where borders momentarily collapse and coalitions glimmer into existence. I adapt to different modalities of making, playfully engaging with various idioms of painting, and seeking out forgotten connections and speculative encounters across time and space. I orient myself, again and again, toward that queer utopia where I maintain a feeling of anonymous belonging.


EDUCATION
Rhode Island School of Design | Providence, RI.
Painting BFA, 2025


SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025 Liz Collins: Motherlode, RISD Museum, Providence RI

2025 The Last Picture Show, RISD Memorial Hall, Providence RI

2025 Designated Smoking area, Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence RI

2024 Landscape As, RISD Memorial Hall, Providence RI

2024 Drinking From a Poison Chalice, RISD Memorial Hall, Providence RI

2023 Junior Painting Show, Gelman Gallery, Providence

2022 Reçu, Galerie de l’IESA, IESA, Paris

2022 Painting A Day, RISD Memorial Hall, Providence RI

2022 Clearing in the Forest, Red Eye Gallery, RISD, Providence, RI, curated by Yuting Wang

2021 FT Group Exhibition, Shanghai