A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.
Share
A circular neon work displayed on a table at a gallery.

Kelly Xi

Harnessing the life-nurturing properties of light, Kelly Xi’s (MFA 2023) luminous work negotiates the ecological impact of technology with the potential for renewal through interspecies collaboration. Kelly uses neon and UV light in her glass sculptures to create habitats for microorganisms, sustaining bacteria, fungi, and algae.

One of the featured neon works in Benthos of the Synthetic Suns by Kelly Xi. Photo by Eugene Tang

A circular neon work displayed on a table at a gallery.

Kelly, an MFA candidate, is an interdisciplinary artist who focuses on digital media and sustainability. Originally from Baotou, Inner Mongolia—home to the world's largest rare earth metal supplier—Kelly's background informs her distinctive artistic practice. 

Read more about Kelly’s project

Photo by Eugene Tang

A person stands amongst a group of neon pieces and blue projections

Kelly's work advocates for creating "direct alliances with the organisms that support our ability to live." Her research investigates the connections between light, ecology, and technology. Her interest in photosynthesis is driven by her interest in the life-sustaining properties of light in contrast to what she sees as the bleak nature of LED-lit screens that surround us. 

Read more about Kelly’s project

Photo by Eugene Tang

Fungi growing in a neon incubator
For more than 155 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars.
Read the latest
A man in a red t-shirt stands in front of a clay work table

Richard Casper

How Art Heals
Sketches of a black woman for an animation exercise

2D Animation in the 21st Century

Continuing Studies Fall 2021
An illustration of a person on a dock looking into a body of water

Belonging, Together

SAIC Initiatives