From Researcher to Artist to Entrepreneur: Lisha Chen on 4C Gallery and Contemporary Art Practice
Date: October 8, 2025
Series: Mother of Success
Opening & Background
Xiao He:
Lisha, the last time we met was at your exhibition in Los Angeles, so glad to continue the conversation online!
Could we start by introducing yourself?
Lisha Chen:
Hello everyone, I’m very happy to be here and to share my journey from wanting to be a researcher to becoming an artist, and my experience founding 4C Gallery in Los Angeles.
I’m an artist and an entrepreneur working in art space and art education. I run 4C Gallery, an independent contemporary art space in LA.
As an artist, my work explores the connection between body and spirit—how people find themselves in modern society. I’m fascinated by theology and ritual practice, and often “go undercover” in unusual organizations to observe human behavior. Using video, installation, and painting, I explore the relationships between technology, identity, gender, and consciousness.
As an entrepreneur, I want to build more platforms for artists and invite more people into the creative process. 4C Gallery combines three functions—exhibitions, education, and community events. It’s not just a gallery, but a living community.
For me, both creation and entrepreneurship are forms of spiritual practice—ways to understand the world and myself.
Originally, I planned to pursue a PhD after college. But fate had its own plans, and I ended up in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) for graduate study—that was where a new path began.
Back in 2018, after graduation, I was working in UI/UX and volunteering for NGOs while studying at UCI. I had also joined a short program at UCLA on AI and Leadership, which gave me a taste of AI.
In 2019, I was lucky to be admitted to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University PhD program on Design + AI in Healthcare. At the time, few people in China were doing “AI + Design,” and I believed AI healthcare was a direction that could truly help people.
From Academia to Artistic Awakening
Lisha Chen:
Later my supervisor changed research directions, and I lost interest. Hong Kong’s political climate was also tense, and I felt mentally exhausted.
Facing a topic I didn’t care about, hearing noise outside my window, I asked myself:
“What do I really want? Am I ready for this? Is this from my heart?”
I realized most people have two deep desires: the first is what you truly dream of; the second is what you think can help others. For me, my true dream was always art. But since my parents did not support it, I used the second desire as a substitute—doing charity, design, and trying to “help others through design.”
Then I suddenly realized I had always known what I truly wanted. Why not do it now? Many people don’t realize this until their 40s or 50s—but I already felt it, so I should not hesitate.
I decided to help myself do what I truly love.
So I applied to SAIC’s graduate program and was admitted with a scholarship. The department chair loved my interdisciplinary background.
Studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Xiao He:
SAIC’s MFA is notoriously competitive; you not only got in but received a scholarship!
Lisha Chen:
Yes, but somehow it didn’t feel impossible, as if everything was pre-arranged.
When preparing my portfolio, I did a visual research project on Soviet architecture and political transformation. I worked until 2 or 3 a.m. many nights, and the feeling of “this is what I love” was crystal clear. Maybe that’s the power of flow.
My parents were confused why I turned down the PhD offer at PolyU. Even now they don’t fully understand what I do, but eventually they accepted it.
Family Expectations and Choices
Xiao He:
I completely understand. My family also had no artists, and it’s hard for them to see writing or art as a “career.”
Lisha Chen:
Exactly. For middle-class parents, they want their children to choose a path with lower risk and stable income.
Art as a career has a tiny margin for error.
Now that I teach art to adults, some parents come to me and say, “Please tell my kids how hard it is to make a living in art—maybe they’ll see it as a hobby instead of a major.”
Students and Creative Motivation
Lisha Chen:
At 4C Gallery, besides exhibitions, we offer art education programs. We started with adult classes, then added youth ones.
Our adult students are fascinating—some studied film but found film school too commercial; some were graduate students about to enter jobs they didn’t like; others had stable careers and wanted to reconnect with their childhood dreams.
For many, art is a spiritual practice — or an alternative one. They don’t just come to learn techniques; they come to ask: “What do I really want? What can I create?”
When you, Xiao, gave your artist talk at our gallery, many students came straight from class. Hearing your stories made them realize that the art world is both glamorous and difficult—something they can see and feel firsthand. That kind of immersion is precious—it gives art a sense of “living people,” different from museums.
Adults Beginning Again
Lisha Chen:
I’ve taught students of many ages—some return after retirement or after their kids grow up; some grieve a loss and seek healing through art.
Their creativity deeply moves me. As a child I felt crushed by pressure—believing that if I wasn’t a famous artist by 30, I was a failure. But these students show me that it’s never too late. We don’t have to live under others’ expectations or constantly prove ourselves.
Why Adult Education First
Xiao He:
Why did you start with adult education instead of children?
Lisha Chen:
Because we started from scratch—we couldn’t be everything at once. We wanted to teach creation itself—to help everyone become an artist.
Creation is non-utilitarian. It’s not training or standardized output. It demands you to do something for no financial return—maybe 100 hours on a canvas that won’t sell. Why? Because it expresses what your heart needs to say.
Adults carry rich life experience—cross-cultural migration, frustration, love. All these are materials for intentional creation. We want them to find joy in creating without utility—that is the core of art.
Teaching Philosophy
Lisha Chen:
Our courses have two parts: learning artistic language (media and techniques) and exploring content. Medium is a crutch—you master one before expanding.
The real goal is to find a theme you would create for without reward—that core motif in your life that pulls you back again and again. Creation reframes life and gives you a reason to begin again.
Working with Decheng Cui
Xiao He:
You and Decheng Cui are amazing—both artists and educators who’ve built a whole system. Did entrepreneurship turn you into educators?
Lisha Chen:
Decheng always wanted to teach. He’s critical of the Chinese art education system and believes someone must change it. For him, contemporary art is about sharing ideas, and education is the most direct way.
I don’t teach regularly—I handle consulting and marketing, and sometimes lead workshops. As someone who changed fields, I understand those who “missed the chance to study art” and why they want to return now.
Building a Space and Community
Xiao He:
You did everything yourself—from renovation to installation—that’s incredible.
Lisha Chen:
Yes! Labor was expensive during the pandemic, so we carried cement and painted walls ourselves—becoming painters in every sense (laughs). Renovation took about 100 days. Learning to lay cement was probably a more profitable skill than art (laughs).
Art startups take time to become sustainable—unlike software. We arrived in LA knowing no one, and just started building. It was reckless but worth it.
Exhibitions and Humanistic Value
Lisha Chen:
We never select shows for sales. If we wanted profit, we’d just show oil paintings and sculpture. But we prefer video and performance works—those that “don’t make money” but have humanistic value.
Commercial art runs on capital logic; humanistic art needs space and community support. We hope to build a friendlier environment for Chinese-speaking artists in LA.
The Meaning of “4C”
Xiao He:
Can you explain the four C’s in “4C”?
Lisha Chen:
They stand for Contemporary, Community, Chinese-speaking, and Chen & Cui (our last names).
Community means a diverse, sincere, and safe space—diversity expands thought; sincerity builds empathy and recognition.
Language also matters deeply. Chinese is our mother tongue, the language of our motherland.
Entrepreneurship and Creation
Lisha Chen:
Decheng wanted to start a venture long before I did. I’m more of an artist at heart.
My motivation for entrepreneurship came from creative block. I realized my art was stagnant because I didn’t understand the world —or myself — enough. Entrepreneurship helps me learn both.
I used to avoid people and was a super introvert. I never thought I’d run a physical space that requires so much commitment. But I did—and it surprised me. Plato wrote in Symposium: “Love is the soul’s desire for beauty and goodness.” I feel that drive in art.
Book and Show Recommendations
Xiao He:
We always end by asking guests for recommendations.
Lisha Chen:
Lately I’ve been rereading philosophy—especially Liu Qing’s Lectures on Modern Western Thought. I also love a YouTube channel called The Big Question—they refuse ads and sustain themselves by selling courses. I deeply admire their idealism.
Xiao He:
Wonderful—thank you Lisha! Your work in building community and education in LA is so inspiring. I hope we collaborate again soon.