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Yin Xiuzhen, Trojan, 2016-2017, steel frame, used clothes, 570 cm × 220 cm × 470 cm (18' 8-7/16" × 86-5/8" × 15' 5-1/16") © Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen

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b. 1963, Beijing, China

A leading figure in Chinese contemporary art, Yin Xiuzhen explores themes of collective memory and private emotions in the age of globalization and homogenization.

Yin began her career after earning a BA from the Capital Normal University’s Fine Arts Department, Beijing, in 1989, and is best known for sculptures and installations comprised of secondhand objects such as clothing, shoes, and suitcases, sometimes sourcing them directly from strangers. Inspired by the rapidly changing cultural environment of her native Beijing, Yin arranges and reconfigures these recycled items to draw out their individual and collective histories. Her assembled materials operate as sculptural documents of memory, alluding to the lives of individuals who are often neglected in the drive toward accelerated developments in urban sprawl and global economy.

Washing River by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Washing River, 1995, performance, dimensions variable © Yin Xiuzhen

Dress Box by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Dress Box, 1995, clothes of the artist worn in her past 30 years, concrete, an old home-made trunk, copper plate, dimensions variable © Yin Xiuzhen

Major solo exhibitions of Yin’s work include Projects 92, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2010); Yin Xiuzhen, The Groninger Museum, Groningen, the Netherlands (2012), which traveled to Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany (2012–13); Slow Release, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2016); Sky Patch, Centre for Heritage Arts and Textile, Hong Kong (2020–21), Piercing The Sky, Power Station of Art, Shanghai (2024–25), among others. Yin joined Pace Gallery in 2010. The gallery has since staged several solo exhibitions of her work, including Yin Xiuzhen: Second Skin, Pace Beijing (2010); Yin Xiuzhen: Nowhere to Land, Pace Beijing (2013); Yin Xiuzhen, Pace Hong Kong (2016–17); Yin Xiuzhen: Back to the End, Pace Beijing, (2017–18); Yin Xiuzhen: Along the Way, Pace Gallery (2021); and Yin Xiuzhen, Pace Gallery, Hong Kong (2022–23).

Beijing Opera_Berlin by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Beijing Opera_Berlin, 2002, installation, dimensions variable © Yin Xiuzhen

Her work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions including the Venice Biennale (2007, 2019); Our Magic Hour, Yokohama Triennale (2011); Art and China after 1989, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, which traveled to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2017); The Allure of Matter Material Art from China, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2019–20), which traveled to The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago (2020), Seattle Art Museum, Washington (2020) and Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts (2020–21); “Global(e) Resistance” A Study of Contemporary Strategies of Resistance, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2020–21); Multiple Sights, Long Museum, Shanghai (2022–23); Time Gravity, Chengdu Biennale, China (2023); and Quarter and Moment/Exit and Entry: Duo Exhibition of Song Dong and Yin Xiuzhen, Ennova Art Museum, Langfang, China (2024), among others.

Weapon by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Weapon, 2007, installation, dimensions variable © Yin Xiuzhen

Yin has been honored with the China Contemporary Art Award (2000) and the UNESCO-Aschberg Award (2000). Yin’s work is held in numerous public collections, including Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan; The Groninger Museum, Groningen, the Netherlands; Hirosaki City, Japan; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; M+, Hong Kong; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, the Netherlands; Tate, London; and White Rabbit Gallery, Chippendale, Australia, among many others. The artist currently lives and works in Beijing.

Portable City: New York by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Portable City: New York, 2003, suitcase, clothes, magnifying glass, map, sound element, 148 cm x 88 cm (58-1/4" × 34-5/8") © Yin Xiuzhen

Collective Subconscious by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Collective Subconscious, 2007, Minibus, stainless steel, used clothes, stools, music, 1,420 cm x 140 cm (46' 7-1/16" x 4' 7-1/8") © Yin Xiuzhen

Introspective Cavity by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Introspective Cavity, 2008, used clothes, stainless steel, mirror, sound, sponge, 1,500 cm × 900 cm × 425 cm (49' 2-9/16" × 29' 6-5/16" × 13' 11-5/16") © Yin Xiuzhen

In a Word No. 010 by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, In a Word No. 010, 2011, stainless steel, used clothes, 4.6 cm × 37.5 cm diameter (1-13/16" × 14-3/4" diameter) © Yin Xiuzhen

In a Word No. 056 by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, In a Word No. 056, 2011, stainless steel, used clothes, 4.6 cm × 45.5 cm diameter (1-13/16" × 17-15/16" diameter) © Yin Xiuzhen

Black Hole by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Black Hole, 2013, multi-layer board, used clothes, LED lights, 150 cm × 250 cm diameter (59-1/16" × 98-7/16" diameter) ( © Yin Xiuzhen

Lachrymal Instrument No.1 by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Lachrymal Instrument No.1, 2016, porcelain, gold, 3 - 15.8 cm × 2.5 - 6.5 cm diameter, total 108 pieces © Yin Xiuzhen

Action No. 2 by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Action No. 2, 2019, porcelain, used clothes, 93.5 cm × 88 cm × 4 cm (36-13/16" × 34-5/8" × 1-9/16") © Yin Xiuzhen

Wall Instrument No. 28 by Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen, Wall Instrument No. 28, 2019-2021, porcelain, used clothes, 95.5 cm × 98.5 cm × 11 cm (37-5/8" × 38-3/4" × 4-5/16") © Yin Xiuzhen