Shawn Xiao is a multimedia visual artist. His practice mainly focuses on painting, sculpture, and wearable art. He was born and raised in Chengdu, China where he began with Chinese ink painting and oil painting. In 2020 he graduated from the Massachusetts college of Art and Design in Boston with a BFA in Fashion Design. Shawn roots his work in social commentary and self-examination. His current work combines figure painting and sculpture. Through this medium he seeks to challenge the boundaries of figurative painting imposed by the surface layer of the canvas. He creates different human like characters in an exploration of the depth of lost memories and dreams. While on the surface this work differs dramatically from his earlier work in fashion design, he ascribes his foundations in draping and shaping garments on the human form with his ability to create movement and conversation within his pieces.