You Si was born into an artistic family. Both of his father, Ha Qiongwen and his mother, You Longgu were two of the most famous and influential Chinese Political Poster painters during 1960s.

In 1982, You Si graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy, majoring in theatrical design, in the first graduating class after the cultural revolution. He then began working as a stage designer in CCTV. While he did stage design for many important TV programs and shows from 1982 to 1987 (including the TV program “The Night of Beijing and Bonn”, a collaboration between German and Chinese producers in 1987), he did a large amount of abstract ink wash painting.

In 1985 and 1986, You Si and Mi Qiu did group shows in Beijing’s ancient Observatory (located in the former city wall), Beijing University and Qing Hua University. These were the first privately organized painting exhibitions shown in China during that time. Many foreign media organizations paid attention to this exhibition (The American magazine Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, etc.). In the same year, he had solo exhibitions in the American Embassy, the Swedish Embassy and the Australian Embassy in Beijing. His work was collected by officials in these embassies.
In 1987 and 1988, You Si was invited to visit the Australian National University’s School of Fine Arts, and University of Sydney’s School of Fine Arts in 1987 and 1988. While visiting, he had a solo exhibition in the East & West Gallery in Melbourne. His work is now kept in the Melbourne National Art Gallery and individual Australian collections. In 1988, he did a solo exhibition in the Holdswoth Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney, selling many works to private collectors.

At the end of 1988, You Si was invited to participate in “The Beijing Young Artists Circuit Exhibition” (which went to New York, Boston, Los Angeles and other main cities in US), sponsored by the Chinese-American Friendship Association. After this exhibition, he settled in New York with his family. His first solo exhibition in the States was at the Manhattan East Gallery in New York, selling many works to private collectors.
When Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, You Si participated in the “Overseas Artists Exhibition” group show, sponsored by City University of Hong Kong.

In 2000, the Abraham Lubeiski Gallery, New York, gave him a solo show titled “New Paintings: Ink on Paper”. In the same year, he participated in “Big Apple Chinese Painting” at the Kalkodo Gallery, New York. The following year, he participated in the “International Ink-wash Painting Exhibition”, sponsored by the Shanghai Art Museum and the Japanese government. This itinerant exhibition was shown across the main cities of China and Japan.

During 20 years of exploring his artistic career in the States, You Si completely developed and changed his style, resulting in what he terms his ‘brand new’ art works. In 2002, You Si was invited to participate in the “Boil and Fry” group show by the Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, and “The Best of Brooklyn Comes to Boston” group exhibition in Bernard Toale Gallery, Boston in 2003. In 2004, he participated in “Vacation Nation” group show, also sponsored by Pierogi Gallery, New York.

You Si’s paintings have been collected by many famous companies in China and overseas, selling works to the companies who own the “High-End” Building and Shanghai Fortune Plaza. In 2006, one of his paintings was given to the Italian cruise ship “Costa” as a gift. At present, while doing more ink wash works, he is also doing a very large commissioned work of 10,000 m2, a section of the interior design of the new cruise ship facility waiting room in the Shanghai International Passenger Transportation Centre.

Education
Shanghai Theater Academy Shanghai, China
Anhui Province School of Arts Hefei, China
 
Solo Exhibitions
2000
“New Paintings: Ink on Paper”
Abraham Lubeiski Gallery
New York, USA
1994
“You Si: Paintings”
Chinese Culture Institute
Boston, USA
1988-'89
“Beijing Young Artists Exhibition to New York and Boston" Multiple venues
USA
1988
“An Exhibition of Painting by You Si”
Holdswoth Contemporary Art Gallery
Sydney, Australia
1987
“Contemporary Chinese Ink and Wash”
Swedish Embassy
Beijing, China
Group Exhibition
2004
“Vacation Nation”
Pierogi Gallery
New York, USA
2003
“The Best of Brooklyn Comes to Boston”
Bernard Toale Gallery “Pierogi Presents”
Boston, USA
2002
“Boiled and Fried”
Pierogi Gallery
New York, USA
2001
“International Ink-wash Painting Exhibition”
Shanghai Art Museum
Shanghai, China
2000
“Big Apple Chinese Painting"
Kalkodo Gallery
New York, USA
1997
“Overseas Artists Exhibition”
Hong Kong City University, Hongkong
1989
“Contemporary Chinese Painting”
Manhattan East Gallery of Fine Arts
New York, USA
1986
“Contemporary Chinese Ink and Wash”
Beijing University and Qinghua University
Beijing, China
1985
“Contemporary Ink Painting”
Beijing Astronomical Observatory
Beijing, China

Collections
Melbourne National Museum
News Week Office (Beijing)
Swedish Embassy (Beijing)
Private collections all over the world