SIQI: Born in China and having lived in the United States for ten years, she was once a very talented competitive swimmer who won many championships in both Chinese and American competitions before pursuing her career as an artist. The perseverance and work ethic she developed during her athletic career laid a solid foundation for her artistic future.

After arriving in New York, she went to the prestigious art school and pursued a Master’s degree in Digital Photography. Here, she began learning everything related to photography and participated in art direction and fashion photography. Under the mentorship of the world-renowned photographer Greg Gorman and other well-known leaders in the photo industry, she became the only Chinese female assistant to the photography master Henry Leutwyler, with whom she collaborated on a commemorative photo shoot for the tenth anniversary of Issey Miyake. Shortly after graduating, her works appeared in top fashion magazines such as "L'Officiel," "Harper's Bazaar," "Schön!," and "PAP Magazine," earning her an honorable nomination for the IPA International Photography Award. Her fashion portraits were permanently featured in Photo Vogue, and she received recommendations and collections from various publishing houses. She has been invited to the top fashion events such as New York Fashion Week and Beijing Fashion Week. She donated all the proceeds from the auctions to charity, dedicating herself to social welfare and youth education. She served as a judge for national art competitions in China and as a special producer and mentor for children’s New Year’s Eve galas multiple times. SIQI's experiences have allowed her to blend aesthetics from her home country with Western artistic styles and bring a unique perspective to photography. She is a member of the American Photographic Artists (APA) and the Chinese Women Photography Association, where she gets to connect with talents worldwide and broaden her international perspective. Her recent personal photography art exhibition was held at the Caelum Gallery in the famous art district of Chelsea, Manhattan. “Manhattan Women”Curartor by Jiayi Tian.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the pace of work and lifestyle worldwide. It became a history that people are unwilling to look back to, but it also marked the tenth year abroad for artist SIQI in the United States. She embodies the resilience and endurance of traditional Chinese women, as well as the unique artistic charm and aesthetic concept of Manhattan women. She is deeply influenced by the diversity of the New York culture and aspires to meet world-class professional standards in producing and photography.

As a Chinese woman, SIQI also does not forget to promote the culture of her homeland. The works showcased in this art exhibition, especially those made from Chinese gossamer (a fabric that is dyed solely from plants) are particularly noteworthy. It takes a year to extract, dry, and then combine the dye with the unique river mud from Guangdong, China. In ancient times, the fabric was only offered to the royal family, and now it is known only to the wealthy and powerful. Therefore, gossamer is known as a treasure of China. SIQI was invited to be the cultural producer and photographer of gossamer, which allowed her to get closer to the behind-the-scene stories. What is even more surprising and moving to her is that the female inheritor who has dedicated half of her life to promoting Chinese culture is actually from Germany and is the founder of the Rechenberg brand. She now resides in Beijing, China, and is the mother of three children.

The exhibition features many portraits of women from around the world, each with a unique and inspiring story. Women’s eyes can be gentle but also sharp, their hands capable of cooking but also commanding. Women can cultivate refinement of characters through arts, but they can also flourish in the workplace. I summarize this as the “spirit of Manhattan women.”