Nhan-Nhi Lillian Nguyen was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is an artist and designer whose work in ceramics is heavily influenced by her undergraduate studies in architecture. She is primarily interested in the boundaries and potentials of craft in the digital age, which she has manifested as a playful enquiry into how human touch and error can intervene in machine processes. 

She received her Bachelors of Architecture from the University of Southern California in 2020 and Masters of Design from Central Saint Martins in 2023.

Exploring the intersection between machine-made and hand-made; the relationship between digital and the analogue, Nguyen is interested in reconnecting design with human touch. She inserts herself into the printing script by weaving coiled clay into the vessels while they are printing. Like a human printer orchestrating the use of the following machinery: 3d ceramic printer, computer, handheld extruder, mixer, and human hand.

Intervening in the ceramic 3D-printing process, creates opportunities for intentional disruption, structural challenges and beautiful accidents–a serendipity of error. No two prints are ever identical. The works are a celebration of the presence of humanity into the man-made machine; the resulting works offer richly textured surfaces and unfamiliar volumes.