Born and raised in China, Jinya Zhao received her BA in 2017 from the China Academy of Art and her MA and MRes from the Royal College of Art in 2019 and 2021.

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In 2019, Jinya was invited as Artist-in-Residence in Southern Illinois University in USA, and in 2022 Taoxichuan Glass Studio in Jingdezhen, China. She is currently pursuing her PhD at the Royal College of Art, London.

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Jinya sees glass as an ideal medium to explore the themes of environment, emotions, and personal experiences. Her work is collected by museums and galleries expanding from but not limited to Prague Gallery of Czech Glass, Qingdao Art Museum, Southern Illinois University, Victoria and Albert Museum, Ulster Museum; her work is also exhibited internationally.

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In Jinya’s current practice and research, she seeks to ascertain how qualities of atmospheric and sublime phenomena can be expressed through hot glass. In particular, the question of how ethereal and intangible qualities of atmospheric phenomena can be revealed, physically captured and translated into hot glass, so as to effectively convey novel and personal meaning. The interplay between imagination, observation, memory, and atmosphere are contextually entwined with colour theory, aesthetic research, and the descriptive language of the sublime.

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A rigorous focus on formal elements (such as colour, shape, form, balance and depth) is established in Jinya’s glassblowing praxis. She explores the expressive potential in blown glass whereby the phenomena engulfs the viewer with the perspectives and experiences of the artist.