Yu Xiao

Born in Hangzhou, China.
Lives and works in Beijing and London.

Xiao studied painting at the College of Fine Arts at Hangzhou Normal University and taught art practice at Electric Science and Technology College in Hangzhou for five years. She pursued an MA in Fine Arts at the Central Saint Martin School of Art & Design in London; Since then, she has worked as an independent artist and has been working in painting primarily, as well as some installations and performances based on painting identity. Currently, she is undertaking practice-led research at the Royal College of Art.

YU Xiao’s paintings hold the female body’s disturbances as private aniconic codes rather than as representational images. Libido disrupts what was once whole, leaving ruin, which becomes the ground on which a different pleasure is built, not recovered but made new. In the studio, gesture and structural operation carry as much weight as image; cuts are generated and folded until barely visible, the fold absorbs the cut; stretchers are exposed rather than hidden; and the usual hierarchy between mark and support falls away. Nothing in the work concludes. Each painting stays in motion, its ending always still arriving, so that what is on view is not a resolution but an open, unfinished event. Thereby, visible doesn’t mean revealing; it also means concealing.
余晓的抽象绘画将女性身体的涌动作为一种私密的、无像的编码持存下来，而非直接呈现为再现性图像。欲力驱动下，原本完整的图像被打破，留下有形的废墟，而这废墟又成为一种全新愉悦得以建立的基础，这种愉悦不是因为断裂被修复，而是被重新生成的。在她的创作过程里，姿态与结构性操作和图像本身同样重要；切口被生成、被折叠至几乎不可见、折叠吸收了切口；画布内框被刻意裸露而非隐藏；绘画中图像与载体之间惯常的等级关系也随之瓦解。作品从不为了给出结论，每一件画作都保持在持续的流变，其’完成’始终尚未抵达，呈现出的不是一个已解决的答案，而是一个开放、未完成的事件。从而，可见并不等于显露，它也可能意味着遮蔽。

EDUCATION

2020-now
Royal College of Art, London, UK
PhD candidate in school Art & Humanities

2008-2010
Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London, UK
MA in Fine Art

1999-2003
Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
BA in Fine Art in College of Fine Art

SOLO EXHIBITION

2023
‘Underbelly’, Cycle Space, Beijing, China

2018
‘Unseen Paintings’, Beijing Art Now Gallery, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

2016 
‘The Possibilities of Paintings’, Beijing Art Now Gallery, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

2013
‘The Painting of small difference’, Beijing Art Now Gallery, Beijing, China

2011
‘Aspects’, Galeria WSA, Warsaw School of Art, Warsaw, Poland

PUBLICATION

2026

‘Between Geometry and Breath Tess Jaray’s Transcultural Abstraction’, in the book Women Artists and Abstract Art in Postwar Rome Connected by Travel by Routledge

2026

‘Offmargin’ The author of ‘Behold: A Journey of the Inbetweeness’ by TRANs & INIVA

2025

‘I am Human’, Wild Parlour Research Group, GLUE, ICA Book fair

2024
‘Muttering’ a section Contributor, She speaks Up

2023
‘Earthwise’ one of the contributors of Planet pamphlet, School of Art & Humanities, RCA

2021
‘PROVA’, Contributor of individual research chapter, School of Art & Humanities, Royal College of Art

2019
‘Interviews with Well-known Contemporary British Artists’, Author, Art Book, China Fine Arts Publishing Group

2018
‘The Art Newspaper’, Chinese Version, Interview, Modern Media

2017
‘Precious Style’, Art & Culture Magazine, Feature, Robb Report

2015
‘Art Basel Public’, Catalogue of Public section, Art Basel Miami Beach
‘WEST BUND Art & Design’, Art Fair Catalogue, WestBund Art Fair

2014
‘The Painting of small difference’, Artist’s book of Xiao’s Solo show, Beijing Art Now Gallery

2013
‘Regrowing’, Catalogue of Chinese Artist Biennale 1st, London Asian House

2012
‘RA Summer Exhibition’, Catalogue, Royal Academy of Art
‘The 16th National Open Art Exhibition’, Nominees’ Catalogue, National Open Art Competition
‘Zhejiang Airlines’Magazine, Feature, Zhejiang Eastline Media Ltd

SELECTED EXHIBITION

2025

FutureLab &Westbund Public section, Shanghai（Nov）

She Paints Still, Mandy Art & Tiderip Gallery, London (Sep)

Plume Collection, Cycle Space, Beijing

Uncharted Reclamation, LCFA Gallery, Hong Kong

2024
Present, Hong Kong Art Center, HongKong Arcadia Fragments, Dongyi No six, Beijing
Small is beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London
‘Afterlife of Nature’ , Palm Springs Modernism Week Art and Architecture, Palm Springs
Chasma’ , Beaconsfields Contemporary Art Center, London
‘Order’, Cycle Space, 798 Art District, Beijing

2023
‘Underbelly’, Cycle Space,798 art district,Beijing, China
‘The Other Side”, Lucie Chang Fine Art, Hong Kong ‘EarthWise’, Beaconsfield Contemporary Art, London (Curated by Josephine Berry) ‘Hopscotch_Research Biennale 2023’,Copeland Gallery, London
‘Gather or Flee’, CMAC Art and media center, San Francisco
‘Layered Surface’, Vanguard Gallery, Shanghai

2022
Unruly Encounter, Southwark Park Gallery (Lake Gallery & Dilston Grove) , London (Curated by Charlotte Bonham-Carter & Dr Catherine Ferguson )

2021
‘Worldwide express’, Daechumoo Fine Art, Gangneung, Korea

2020
‘Waiting for Connection’，BACA Art centre, Beijing, China
‘You Won Fair and Square’, ArtBox, 798 art district, Beijing, China

2019
‘Nothing to Empty’, Acme Art, Rowse Close, London, UK
‘Relative’, Yi Da Art Community Center, Songzhuang, Beijing, China

2018
‘Here/Elsewhere’,Hexiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
‘Cell Art’, Amsterdam rail station, Amsterdam, Holand.
‘Permission’ Liberty bridge space, London, London

2017
‘London Digital’, Unite 5 Gallery, London,UK
‘Movement’, Fill The Gap Art, London, UK

2016
‘Equinox-light and dark’, The Loughton Arts Gallery,London,UK
‘No Monkey Business’,Q park,London, UK

2015
‘Elevation No.2’, Miami Art Basel’s Public, Collins Park, Miami Beach, US
Laforet Family Collection Show, Milan, Italy
‘Parallel Trade’, Bazaar Compatible Market Stall, Shanghai,China

2014
‘We could not agree‘,Q Park,Cavendish Square, London,UK
‘Encountering The Arts‘,India YMCA Mahatma Gandhi Hall, London,UK
London Biennale, Soho Square&Suffolk Street, London,UK
‘Wrap Up The Gallery’, Anatomy Museum, King’s College,London,UK
‘New Abstraction’, HDM Gallery, 798 Art District, Beijing,China

2013
‘ART THAT HEELS’, ELLE cross border Group show, Vertcenter, Shanghai, China
‘Art Hasn’t Given The Full Expression’, Peacock city lake art museum, Beijing, China
‘Regrowing’, The First Biennale of UK Chinese artist, Asia House, London, UK

2012
‘Abstraction isn’t abstraction’, Crypt gallery, Norway square, Cornwall, UK
‘The Boat of 2012’, Today Contemporary Art Museum,BeiJing, China
Chinese Abstract Artists Global Touring Exhibition, NingBo, China
‘Summer exhibition 2012’, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly, London, UK
‘Westlake in my mind’, ZheJiang Art Museum, HangZhou, China
‘Space for mind,space for art’, Vauxhall gardens community centre, London, UK
UK 91st Annual Open Exhibition,Menier Gallery, Southwalk street,London, UK
‘Interruption’, George private space,Windsor street, Brighton, UK

2011
‘The Catalyst’, 798 Art district, BeiJing, China
Chinese artists based in London, Shanghai international exhibition central, ShangHai, China.
UK China Art & Design Festival 2011,Great western studio, London.UK
‘Declaration of Independence’, at Today Art Museum, BeiJing, China

2010
MA Fine Art Degree Show, Central Saint Martins, London, UK
‘Necessary Illusions’, Bargehouse, OXO Tower Wharf, London, UK

Before 2009
‘A Moment Chaos’, WenDing Gallery, HangZhou, China
‘Creation Market’, ZheJiang World Trade International Exhibition Center,HangZhou, China
BA Fine Art degree show, ZheJiang Exhibition Hall,HangZhou, China
HangZhou young artists’ exhibition. ZheJiang Exhibition Centre, HangZhou, China
Lengmian Hantie of Embed wall carved stone line in City God Pavilionon the Wu Hill, Hangzhou West Lake International Expo, China