Chelsea Xiaoyu Li (b.1998, China) lives and works in London. Li began her artistic journey with painting in childhood and spent years honing her skills through professional training. With over 8 years of experience in jewellery making, Li refined her craft and completed her Master’s in Jewellery & Metal at the Royal College of Art in 2023.

Li’s works have been featured in Marie Claire, ELLE, BAZAAR, CHINA GEMS, London Craft Week, and London Fashion Week. In 2025, Li was awarded the Gold Award by the Goldsmiths' Craft & Design Council in the UK.

Li’s practice honours the natural forms of stone, exploring the fluidity of culture and identity through carving, guided by the stone’s inherent form. By engaging with stone and its cultural lineages, Li’s work reflects a nuanced understanding of the histories and identities, embedded in vernacular craftsmanship. Informed by personal experience, historical memory, and diverse perspectives shaped by regional differences, Li’s works transcend geographical and cultural boundaries, evoking resonances between material and human experience. They explore the ambiguities of belonging and identity, offering a reflective meditation on the interplay between individual and collective selves.

Education

2021-2023

MA, Royal College of Art, Jewellery & Metal.

2017-2021

 BA, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, Product design.

Exhibitions & collaboration

2025                                

August  

Inflow contemporary jewellery exhibition 2025, Budapest, Hungry.

July

The Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards

Summer Exhibition 2025, 02 Jul 2025 - 11 Sep 2025, The

Goldsmiths' Centre, London, UK.

May

London Craft Week 2025, Tiangong Kaiwu: Crafting Works of Nature, China Pavilion for London, 13-18 May, London, UK.

April  

Doing Jewellery contemporary art exhibition, JCC Center, L’AVENUE Shanghai, April 5-July 6, Shanghai, China.

March

The Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards Exhibition 2025, March 4-7, London, Goldsmith Hall, UK.

The Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards Exhibition 2025, March 26-27, Birmingham Assay Office, Birmingham, UK.

2024                                

December

Frontières International contemporary art jewellery exhibition, Plus Trois, Paris, France.

Cluster Contemporary Art Jewellery Fair 2024, London, UK.  

November

A Poem to be Worn, Jinjing Gallery, November 2024 – March 2025, Shanghai China.

October

Romanian Jewelry week 2024, Bucharest, Romania.

August

Youtopia Fair 2024, Labelhood, Shanghai, China.

Gorgeous Jewellery 1.0 Contemporary Art Jewellery exhibition, JCC Center, Tongji University, China Industrial Design Institute, Shanghai, China.

June  

Design Shanghai 2024, Shanghai, China.

May  

London Craft Week 2024, Crafted Elegance: A Fusion of Tradition and Innovation, Blackdot Gallery, London, UK.

2023                         

September

Runway, wearable art collaboration with Randy Chi Ho Wong, London Fashion Week 2023, London, UK.

Press

2025                                   

June

An Appointment with Objects – Reflections on the Art of Making, China Gems Magazine, feature article, May–June 2025, print only, China.

January

Xiaoyu Li: Contemporary Art in Jade Carving A Canvas For Cultural Hybridity, Our Culture Magazine, artist interview & review, online article, UK.

2024                                

December

Exploring Cultural Hybridity: Interpreting Identity in Multiculturalism, Qianlong.com, artist interview & review, online article, China.

November

Interpreting Contemporary Art Through Serpentine Jade, Ta

Kung Pao, artist interview & review, online article, China.

October

BAZAAR Jewelry, October issue, print only, artist review, China.

Romania Jewelry Week 2024: How Li Xiaoyu's Works Spark Cultural Dialogue, Artron Art, artist interview & review, online article, China.

September

ELLE Romanian, September issue, print only, artist review, Romania.

May

London Craft Week 2024 special edition, Blackdot Gallery,

artist interview & review, Online & print publication, UK.

January

Marie Chire China, January issue, artist interview & review, print only, China.

Finding New Possibilities for Traditional Jewelry in the Cultural Hybridity Pot of Exotic Lands, VONMO, artist interview, online article, China.

Innovation of Traditional Jewelry in Contemporary Jewellery Field, artist interview, online article, Klimt02, China.

Award                             

2025

Gold Award, Lapidary & Carving (Junior), Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards, 2025.

2024

Winner, Gorgeous Jewellery Award, Gorgeous Jewellery 1.0 Contemporary art exhibition, awarded by China Industrial Design Institute, Tongji University, JCC Center.

2020

Merit Award, Hua Cai International Design Competition, awarded by Changle County Government.