Crab Butter & All Things Umami, Monoprint, 2024, 30x44

Mable Ni is an MFA student in Studio Art with a concentration in Printmaking at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Mable Ni is a Chinese American artist who was born and raised in Spartanburg, SC. She primarily works in printmaking, painting, and ceramics. Mable graduated from Converse University in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Fine Art. Her body of work currently explores the concept of food as a love language. She attempts to display authentic and Americanized Chinese cuisine as a means to explore family dynamics, acts of love, and present her experiences as a Chinese American. Mable often expresses these themes through depictions of food, anecdotes, and contemporary dining motifs.

Artist Statement

“吃了吗?” my mom asks me as I walk through the door of my home.

Growing up, my mom didn’t say “I love you,” rather, she showed her affection through the effort she put into the act of making delicious meals and snacks.

Nourishment is a common subject that brings people together. There is a connection that occurs during the preparation and consumption of a meal, wherein we create memories and express our gratitude to one another. Bonding over a shared meal is culturally universal and representing food as a tool for building strong relationships allows me to communicate across cultural barriers on familiar ground.

Throughout my work, I’ve illustrated personal references to Chinese dishes and depicted them with a dream-like aura. The hope is to depict and convey the complex emotions that my family’s cooking evokes in me. My artwork presents food as a narrative and a cultural avenue of communication between generations.