Ethnie Xu

Tender Things is a collection of drawings about cities, the stories they hold, and the imagined worlds that grow from them.

Ethnie Xu is a Chinese New Zealander who has lived across China, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, including California, Connecticut, and New York City. Moving between places has shaped the way she sees cities, not only as built environments, but as collections of memories, encounters, histories, and possibilities.

Her drawings explore the character of places and the stories behind them, often moving between observation and imagination. Familiar streets, buildings, objects, and fragments of urban life become starting points for something more personal, playful, or dreamlike.

Tender Things is about looking closely at the places around us and imagining what else they might contain.

Ethnie holds a Bachelor of Design from the University of Sydney and a Master of Architecture and MBA from Yale University.