Zhanyi Chen’s (b.1997) works probe how soft science fiction offers intervals to reflect on the tension between sky technologies, their environmental and psychological effects, and the cultures in weather and environments—especially how individuals cope inside systems that feel both relied-upon and remote. Using weather satellite data, early Space Age archives, and speculative storytelling, she makes objects that propose how celestial and other infrastructural technologies, from electronics to languages, can be strategically misused to prioritize private feeling over functionality. When these technologies fail, they become conduits for narrative and emotion, speaking about our constant yearning for miraculous connections.
She has exhibited at institutions including Rockbund Art Museum (Shanghai), the Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art (Fall River), and Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Santa Barbara). She received the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts in 2024. She has co-organized the Sky Art 24 Symposium and Exhibition at MIT and screened her work in SculptureCenter (New York) and MIT Museum (Cambridge). She holds an MS in Art, Culture, and Technology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MFA in Digital + Media from Rhode Island School of Design.