The title of this exhibition, “FLYFLYFLY,” draws from three interpretations of the concept of “flight”: the flight of the times, the flight of creativity, and the flight of youth. Organized by the Kenna Art Center, this exhibition features six young female artists of Asian descent born in the 1990s who live and work in New York and Seattle, USA, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, presenting their work in Shenzhen—the city with the youngest population. Through new concepts, techniques, materials, and artistic languages, these six young artists born in the 1990s show us that there is always a group of young people here striving to stay at the forefront of global information culture and the times, using art to explore and set free the visions in their hearts.

In this rapidly changing era and in Shenzhen—a city brimming with innovative spirit—they are subverting traditional artistic languages and opening the door to hyper-contemporary artistic exploration. The six participating artists have studied, lived, and engaged with the cutting edge of the international art scene, exploring an independent artistic spirit that integrates global art with science and technology. This allows these young artists of the 1990s generation, hailing from diverse regions, to soar and break new ground in the world of art.

Saito Sai, born in Sapporo, Japan, in 1993, graduated from Tohoku University of Art and Design (TUDA) in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Oil Painting. In 2017, she was admitted to Kyoto City University of Arts (KCUA), where she is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Oil Painting. She currently lives and works in Tokyo.

Ruby Yang, born in Shenzhen, China, in 1994, majored in philosophy at Bard College from 2013 to 2015. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2015 to 2017, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art. She subsequently pursued graduate studies at the San Francisco Art Institute from 2018 to 2020, earning a Master of Fine Arts degree. She currently lives and works in Seattle.

Li Nianxin, born in Chongqing, China, in 1999, studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence from 2017 to 2020. She moved to New York in 2021 to study at the School of Visual Arts and currently lives and works in New York.

Huang Baoying, born in Shenzhen, China, in 1997, earned a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Boston University in 2022 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2019. She currently lives and works in New York.

Ma Tiantian, born in Wuhan, China, in 1997, is an emerging artist specializing in oil painting. She graduated with a BFA in Oil Painting from Pratt Institute in 2020 and currently lives and works in New York.

Meng Donglai, born in Dalian, China, in 1994, is a painter and mixed-media artist. He holds a master’s degree from the AKV St. Joost Academy of Visual Culture in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, and a bachelor’s degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Italy. He currently lives and works in the Netherlands.