Yan Cynthia Chen is a New York City–based artist and educator who works primarily in sculpture and installation. She creates recognizable yet unidentifiable forms that evoke gestures and feelings inside the body. Chen’s sculptures draw analogies between structures of the body and architecture. As an educator, Chen guides students to work iteratively, encouraging them to experiment, build upon discoveries, and explore new perspectives, much like her own process of reimagining familiar objects through play. Chen holds an MFA from Hunter College and a BFA in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design. Chen was a fellow in the Bronx Museum AIM Program and the Yale Norfolk Summer Residency. She has exhibited a solo at Olympia gallery and numerous group exhibitions including the AIM Biennial at the Bronx Museum, Longwood Art Gallery, Tappeto Volante Gallery, Assembly Room, and Westbeth Gallery.