Xinyun Li is a New York–based registered architect whose working across commercial, residential, educational, and healthcare typologies. Her design philosophy positions architecture as a medium of expression grounded in contextual respect, empathy for users, and cultural and environmental responsibility. Her work is not confined to a fixed style or formal language; instead, it synthesizes rigorous architectural logic with emotional sensitivity, translating ideas into spatial experiences that resonate with people and place. Drawing from both professional practice and independent exploration, she integrates innovation, conceptual clarity, material intelligence, and emerging technologies to create architecture that is performative, expressive, and meaningful. she designs spaces that balance conceptual clarity, functionality, and cultural and environmental responsibility.

Can you tell us about your background and how you started your artistic journey?

I am an architect by training and practice. My artistic journey began while I was studying architecture, when I became interested not only in buildings themselves, but also in the different ways architecture can be represented and interpreted. Over time, architecture became a way for me to observe, understand, and sometimes reconstruct the world around me. My artistic work has grown naturally from this way of seeing—using space, structure, and visual composition to explore my thoughts and experiences.

How do you stay inspired and motivated to create new work?

Inspiration comes to me quite freely and unexpectedly. I may notice an image, an object, a situation, or a question and suddenly feel that it could be expressed in a particular way. I do not pressure myself to constantly have new ideas or continuously produce new work. I usually begin creating only when I encounter a thought or feeling that genuinely stays with me and makes me want to explore it further. That sense of curiosity is what motivates me.

What are the main themes or concepts you explore in your work?

Most of my work begins with a subject, question, or observation from everyday life. Because much of my background and professional experience is rooted in architecture, I naturally process these ideas through architectural ways of thinking. Concepts such as space, boundaries, scale, structure, circulation, and the relationship between people and their environments often become tools for interpretation. Rather than representing a subject directly, I use architectural language to organize, reframe, and understand it.

Can you describe a recent project or artwork that you are particularly proud of?

One recent work I am particularly proud of is Blueprint of Contained Lives, which is presented in this exhibition. The work uses architectural language to reflect on how contemporary life is contained. I feel particularly connected to this piece because it uses an architectural way of thinking to examine the conditions of everyday life, while bringing the concept, spatial structure, and visual expression together in a relatively complete way.

Has your practice changed over time? If so, what has shifted the most?

My practice has always been quite intuitive and open-ended. I do not define it through a fixed medium, subject, or direction. I allow myself to follow whatever I am thinking or feeling at a particular moment, and I let each idea determine its own form. Over time, I have become more comfortable with this freedom. I am less concerned with placing my work within a specific category and more interested in whether it honestly expresses the thought or feeling that initiated it.

What projects are you currently working on, and what can we expect from you in the future?

At the moment, most of my work is focused on architectural design projects. My independent artistic practice develops at a different and more spontaneous rhythm. I do not plan to create new work simply for the sake of maintaining continuous production. When I encounter a new idea, experience, or question that feels meaningful to me, I will begin exploring it and allow a new work to emerge naturally from that process.

Text and photo courtesy of Xinyun Li

Website: https://www.xinyunlab.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/li_xinyunnnnnn/