Negotiated Skin

Chinese American Arts Council/Gallery 456 is pleased to present the exhibition “Negotiated Skin”. The exhibition is on view from September 20, 2026, through September 22, 2026.

Exhibition Statement

“Negotiated Skin” emerged from my experience of cervical surgery, when physical pain and emotional vulnerability became inseparable. Without depicting injury directly, the work translates rupture into a material condition: something that can stretch, soften, tear, be reinforced, and continue to change.

The exhibition brings together handwoven textiles, protein-based biomaterial membranes, soft sculpture, suspended installation, and collaborative work with threeASFOUR. I work with hand-reeled silk, wool, natural plant fibers and dyes, discarded fruit and vegetable skins, gelatin, and silk protein. These materials move between skin, textile, garment, and environment.

Repair remains visible throughout the work. A dropped stitch, weakened edge, or membrane that begins to sag can become a site of attention rather than something to hide. Ongoing dialogue with biomedical researcher Dr. Liwen Zhang, whose work engages biomaterials in tissue-repair contexts, has deepened the way I think about reinforcement, vulnerability, and care.

The project also explores the potential of protein-based membranes as biodegradable alternatives to petroleum-derived synthetic surfaces. Instead of proposing a finished replacement for plastic, I am interested in a different material future in which origin, behavior, repair, and eventual return become part of the design process.

As these materials move from the body into space, they retain traces of touch without representing the body literally. Negotiated Skin considers skin not as a fixed boundary, but as something continually negotiated between protection and exposure, fragility and resilience, body and environment.

About the Artists

Freda Xinyue Xia is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist working across textiles, biomaterials, and installation. Rooted in her early training in traditional Chinese painting, her practice brings together fiber, soft sculpture, material experimentation, and spatial installation to explore the body, rupture, repair, and transformation.

Xia holds a BFA in Traditional Chinese Painting from China Academy of Art and an AAS in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design, where she is currently pursuing an MFA in Textiles. In 2026, she was selected as an inaugural CFDA x Bezos Earth Fund Next Thread Initiative Scholar and received the Surface Design Journal Activated Nature Award. Her recent practice includes biomaterial and textile collaborations with threeASFOUR and exhibitions through New York Textile Month, Surface Design Association, Galerie Shibumi, and Parsons x Impact NYCxDESIGN.

Opening Reception: Sunday, September 20, 2026, 6-9pm
Closing Walkthrough / Artist Talk: Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 6:30-7:30pm

Please contact info@caacarts.orgfor more information.

Gallery 456
Hours: M-F, 1-5PM and by appointment
Address: 456 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10013, Elevator Accessible Contact: (212) 431-9740 | info@caacarts.org
Website: www.caacarts.org | Instagram/Facebook/Twitter: @caacarts
Chinese American Arts Council’s Gallery 456 Visual Arts Exhibition Series is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Gove¬¬¬rnor and the New York State Legislature.