Yi’s paintings infuse color and movement. While her dynamic landscape paintings draw inspiration from Chinese brush paintings, her figurative works are charged with emotion and energy.

Yi was born in Shanghai, China where she began formal dance and piano training at the age of four. Since the age of twelve, she has lived in Colorado, Italy, Baltimore, and New York, and has traveled to over 26 countries.  Yi received her BA in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University, and MAs in East Asian Studies and Political Science from Columbia University.

In 2008, Yi published her first book 101 Stories for Foreigners to Understand Chinese People—a best-selling English book in China. A former investment banker and teacher, Yi devotes her time in painting and writing as she raises her two young children in Deephaven, Minnesota with her husband.