Xiaojing Yan

www.yanxiaojing.com

In the Shells

Installation, 2019
Paper and reed
Dimensions variable

❝Living in Canada for the past 18 years, thoughts of ancient Chinese culture are often relegated to the dark recesses of my brain. But these ideas and concepts, while dormant in my everyday life, have begun to germinate in my artwork, pushing their way up through the complex layers of identity. I am motivated in my practice to find new ways to breathe life into these very specific Chinese ideas, traditions, rituals, and materials, so rich in religion, mythology and culture. A certain kind of alchemy occurs, where these things are transformed into ideas which now speak to global situations and concerns, as well as modern, post-modern, and post-human conditions.

In the Shells explores the state of living and travelling between two cultures. My experience of identity is that it is constantly-changing—the self adapts, changes, and grows, remaining aware and protected from the harsh environment. Employing the traditional craft of lantern making, I constructed cocoon forms resembling life in nature. In the process of growth, the transient stage of these evolving forms recalls the beginning of new life, rebirth, and reincarnation. Their lightweight materials define shape, space and volume, but also the tradition where I came from. Simple in their material restraint, yet geometrically complex; pliable in their porous and translucent delicacy, yet possessing tensile, internal strength; drifting yet self-contained, ready to survive and blossom in a new land with old roots—these are the qualities and nature of my work, and that of many immigrants. It speaks to the fragility and preciousness of our time on Earth.❞

Xiaojing Yan is a Chinese-Canadian artist working both in Canada and China. She received an M.F.A in Sculpture from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2007, and a B.F.A from Nanjing Arts Institution, China, in 2000. Yan is known for intricate sculptural installations that explore the intersection between the natural and cultural worlds. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums internationally, including Suzhou Museum, China; Royal Ontario Museum, Canada; the Varley Art Gallery, Markham, Ontario; the Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, B.C.; amongst others. She was commissioned by Hermès to design the 2019 summer window for Maison Hermès in Shanghai, accompanied by her solo exhibition there. Yan’s work has been included in many collections and she has completed many public art projects, including: Moon Gate, a sculpture commissioned by Jinji Lake Art Museum, China; Sound of the Rain, a wall sculpture commissioned by the Elora Centre for the Arts, Canada; The House Sets the North, an installation commissioned by ‘Work of Wind: Air, Land, Sea project,’ in Mississauga. Yan is also the recipient of several awards and grants, including the 2014 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Project Grants from the Canadian Council for the Arts, Mid-career Grants from Ontario Arts Council, the Chalmers Arts Fellowship, and the 2018 OAAG Exhibition Installation and Design Award.

Education

2007 M.F.A. Sculpture, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PA USA

2004 Certificate Jewelry Essentials, George Brown College, Toronto, ON Canada

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2019 where two rivers meet, Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto, ON Canada
Dreamland, Hermès Maison Shanghai, China
A Wanderer’s Mind, Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cobourg, ON Canada
Heaven And Earth, Robert Langen Art Gallery at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON Canada

2018 In Suspended Silence, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC Canada
Auspicious Omens, Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, China

2017 Between the Water and Mountains, Zhangjiagang Museum, Zhangjiagang, China
   Out From Among the Tranquil Woods, Varley Art Gallery, Markham, ON Canada
   Floating, Durham Art Gallery, Durham, ON Canada
   Under the Willow Tree, Kontort Project Space, Katzman Contemporary, Toronto, ON Canada

2015 Hybrid Vigour, The Latcham Gallery, Stouffville, ON Canada
Cloud Cell, Red Head Gallery, Toronto, ON Canada
New Growth-Breath in Unison, Orleans Gallery, Ottawa School of Art, ON Canada

2014 Innocence & Experience, Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto, ON Canada

2012 A Grasp of Shadows, Red Head Gallery, Toronto, ON Canada

2011 New Growth, Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, ON Canada
Bridge, Artspace, Peterborough, ON Canada
Cloudscape, Exhibition in corresponding to Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum, Toronto, ON Canada

2010 Shells, Cocoons and Clouds, IndexG Gallery, Toronto, ON Canada

2009 Floating, Phoenix Art Gallery, Nanjing, China

2006 Transmigration and Spirit, thesis exhibition, Kipp Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PA USA

Selected Public Art and Collections

2019 Cloudscape, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON Canada

2018 Dwelling, City of Burlington Plain Road Public Art, ON Canada

2017 Sound of the Rain, Elora Centre for the Arts, Elora, ON Canada
Nature’s Bounty, AquaBlu Condo Development at Town of Grimsby, ON Canada

2016 Moon Gate, Permanent Public Art Commissioned by Jinji Lake Art Museum, Suzhou, China

2013 Cloudscape, Seneca College, Toronto, ON Canada

Selected Special Projects

2019 Into the Dreams, window display, Hermès Maison, Shanghai, China

2019 Biennale internationale du lin de Portneuf, Québec city, QC Canada

2018 The Work of Wind: Air, Land, Sea, Blackwood Gallery at the University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON Canada
Star Mountain IV, Ed Video at Platforms Project international art fair, The Cultural Centre, Athens, Greece
Cloudscape, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON Canada

2017 Hologram Screen Public Art Project, Hanzhong Subway Station, Shanghai, China

2016 Idiorrhythmic: Canadian & Chinese Artists Urban Public Space Art Creation Project, Suzhou Industrial Park, Jinji Lake Museum, Suzhou, China

2014 Cloud Cell, Featured project at Art Toronto-Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, ON Canada
Critique – No Vacancy Contemporary Art Event, Village Square, Burlington, ON Canada

2013 Art Toronto-Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, ON Canada
Face to Face, Artist Project – Installation Zone, Better Living Centre, Toronto, ON Canada

2012 Focus Asia –Beyond Geography/ featured exhibition at Art Toronto-Toronto International Art Fair, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, ON Canada

Selected Group and Two Person Exhibitions

2020 The Art of Living on Community, Immigration, and the Migration of Symbols, Canadian Culture Centre, Paris, France

2019 The Experiment, Dunlop Art Gallery, RPL Film Theatre, Regina Public Library, Regina, SK Canada
Glimmers of the Radiant Real, Art Gallery of Peterborough, Peterborough, ON Canada
Glimmers of the Radiant Real, Mclntosh Gallery, London, ON Canada

2018 Incarnation, GAWA, New York, NY USA
Glimmers of the Radiant Real, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, ON Canada

2017 Beijing International Jewelry Show, Beijing Institute of fashion Technology, Beijing, China

2014 Out Sourcing, University Museum at Nanjing University of Arts, Nanjing, China
(Da bao)(Takeout), Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, BC, Canada

2013 (Da bao)(Takeout), curated by Shannon Anderson and Douglas Lewis, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, MB Canada

2012 (Da bao)(Takeout), Art Gallery of Mississauga, ON Canada
(Da bao)(Takeout), Varley Art Gallery, Markham, ON Canada

2011 The View from Here: New Landscape, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, ON Canada
Instruments for Free Space: [TheUser] & Xiaojing Yan, Cambridge Galleries, Cambridge, ON Canada

Curatorial Projects

2017 2^nd Idiorrhythmic: Canadian & Chinese Sculpture Creation Project, Zhangjiagang Museum, China
Participating Canadian artists: Jim Hake, Hélène Rochette, Kip Jones, Lily Otasvic
Participating Chinese Artists: Ma Haiping, Yang Ming

2016 Idiorrhythmic: Canadian & Chinese Artists Urban Public Art Creation Project, Suzhou Industrial Park, organizer: Jinji Lake Art Museum, Suzhou, China
Participating Canadian artists: Iain Baxter, Ian Carr-Harris, Yvonne Lammerich, Xiaojing Yan, Yam Lau,
Nadia Myre, Alexandre David, Mani Mazinani, Scott Harbor

Participating Chinese Artists: Wang Xubin, Shen Jianguo, Cao Lei, Chen Ping, Zhou Nianqing

2007 Floating Ink-Ye Wei’s Chinese Landscape Painting, Kipp Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA

Selected Awards and Grants

2020 Market Development, Ontario Arts Council

2019 Concept to Realization Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
Exhibition Grant, Ontario Arts Council

2018 OAAG Exhibition Installation and Design Award, Ontario Associate of Art Galleries
   Research and Creation Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
   Concept to Realization Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
   Chalmers Professional Development Projects Grant, Ontario Arts Council
   Artist Aboard Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
   Exhibition Grant, Ontario Arts Council

2017   Project Grant to Visual Artists, Canada Council for the Arts
   Exhibition Assistant Grant, Ontario Arts Council (2)
   Mid-Career Artist Grant, Ontario Arts Council

2016 Chalmers Arts Fellowship, Ontario Arts Council
Travel Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
Exhibition Assistant Grant, Ontario Arts Council (2)

2015 Project Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
Emerging Artist Grant, Ontario Arts Council

2014 Young Alumni Achievement Award, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PA USA
Exhibition Assistant Grant, Ontario Arts Council (3)

2013 Project Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
   Emerging Artist Grant, Ontario Arts Council
   Exhibition Assistant Grant, Ontario Arts Council (2)
   Mandarin Profile Awards, Fairchild TV, Canada

2012 Exhibition Assistant Grant, Ontario Arts Council (3)

2011 International Conference Travel Grant, College Art AssociatiON New York, NY USA
Exhibition Assistant Grant, Ontario Arts Council (3)
Best of Show Award, Annual Juried Exhibition, The Latcham Gallery, Stouffville, ON Canada

2010 Project Grant, Toronto Arts Council

2009   Project Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
   Emerging Artist Grant, Ontario Arts Council
   Best of Show Award, 135th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Ontario Society of Artists, ON Canada

2008 Emerging Artist Grant, Toronto Arts Council

2006 Graduate Student Research Grant, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PA USA

2005 University Senate Travel and Research Grant, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PA USA