Shi Hui (b. 1955, Shanghai) graduated from the Zhejiang Academy of Art (now the China Academy of Art) in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in Dyeing and Weaving. From 1986 to 1989, she continued her research and artistic training at the Varbanov Tapestry Research Centre, emerging as one of the pioneering figures in Chinese contemporary fiber art in the 1980s.

In 1987, Shi Hui and Zhu Wei’s collaborative work Longevity was presented at the 13th International Lausanne Biennial of Contemporary Tapestry, marking a significant moment in the international recognition of contemporary Chinese tapestry art.Grounded in a deep respect for the intrinsic qualities of her chosen media, Shi Hui’s work reflects a genuine shift in artistic language—one that foregrounds both “anti-form” and the restructuring of form.

For more than two decades, Shi Hui has continually expanded the possibilities of fiber art. Working with cotton, canvas, rice paper, paper pulp, and other materials, she foregrounds the inherent qualities of fiber while articulating her own understanding and expression of an Eastern spirit within the context of contemporary art. Shi Hui’s early works were primarily developed through both flat and three-dimensional weaving techniques. Since the 1990s, however, her practice has moved further beyond the conventional frameworks of weaving. Through web-like structures, she has continuously explored increasingly open and liberated spatial relationships. By combining meticulous handwork with forms inspired by the organic patterns of life, Shi Hui has gradually forged a distinctive artistic vocabulary of her own.

Shi Hui’s solo and duo exhibitions include Material Matters: Sheila Hicks and Shi Hui, West Bund Museum, Shanghai (2026); White Meditation, BANK, Shanghai (2024); Materiality and the Unadorned Mind, Art Museum of China Academy of Art, Hangzhou (2013); Flourishing Spirits with artist Xu Jiang, Ludwig Museum Koblenz (2013); Floating Shadows on the Wall, HHLA Exhibition Center, Hamburg (2006); Heaven and Earth, Columbia College Gallery, Chicago (2001); and Women Artists in the Academy: Shi Hui, China Academy of Art Gallery, Hangzhou (1995).

She has also participated in numerous major group exhibitions and biennials, including Au fil des siècles : Chefs-d’œuvre de la tapisserie française et résonances chinoises, Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, Shenzhen (2026); Atlas: Harmony in Diversity, Pavilion of the People’s Republic of China at the 60th Venice Biennale (2024); the 2024 Wuhan Biennale, City Fluidity, Wuhan Art Museum (2024); the 14th Shanghai Biennale, Cosmos Cinema, Power Station of Art, Shanghai (2023–24); the First Guangzhou Triennial, Reinterpretation: A Decade of Experimental Chinese Art, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou (2002); Living in Time: 29 Contemporary Artists from China, Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin (2001); and the 13th International Tapestry Biennial, Lausanne (1987).

Shi Hui’s duo exhibition Material Matters is currently on view at the West Bund Museum in Shanghai through August 2, 2026.