Danni Xu

Danni Xu was born in China and currently resides in the United States. She received her MFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from Rhode Island School of Design in 2021 and held a BFA degree in Metalsmithing & Jewelry Design, and a B.S. degree in Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management from Indiana University Bloomington. Danni has been awarded several prestigious Artist in Residency programs such as Lillstreet Art Center, and Spring Pentaculum at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and was recently awarded Penland Winter Residency in 2022. She has previously taught classes and workshops at the Rhode Island School of Design, Lillstreet Art Center, Kean University, and Penland School of Craft. 

Danni’s work has been featured both nationally and internationally, including Profile’19 in Sydney, Australia, Beijing International Jewellery Art Exhibition in Beijing, China, Jewelry and Nature in Porto, Portugal, Mulan - New Age Chinese Art Jewelry at New York City Jewelry Week, NY, Heart + Flowers in Brooklyn, NewYork, Timeless Cure (invitational) in Chicago, IL as well as traveling exhibition Surface Matters: Grit or Gloss from The Enamelist Society. Danni is also a recipient of the Tiffany & Co. Foundation Scholarship and Graduate Fellowship from Rhode Island School of Design, Winter Residency Fellowship from Penland School of Craft, and Alma Eikerman Memorial Award in Visual Arts from The National Society of Arts and Letters. 

As an artist and a designer, Danni’s current research work focuses on the potential connection that jewelry could build across time and space and examines the methodology of how to project specific emotions such as nostalgia through wearing or viewing in the jewelry format.