Yu Hong (b. 1966, Beijing) studied oil painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China, during the 1980s. It is here that she continues to teach her painterly skills, initially grounded in the techniques of Social Realist painting (which was common in art academies in China at that time), but has since developed into her own recognized visual language anchored in the depiction of the human figure. Yu Hong centers her practice on her experience as a woman, taking inspiration from both her own life and the lives of others around her. The world that she creates through her art encapsulates a sense of time and memory that is intermingled in the delicate, often domestic scenes that she portrays, resulting in large-scale works that are personal and emotionally reflective. Working on canvas, silk or resin, with oil, pastel or fabric paint, Yu Hong frequently uses photography as a starting point for her work, at times incorporating this medium into the final piece. Interested in how our recollection of the past is enhanced or diminished through the camera lens, Yu Hong places the photographed subject in direct relationship with its own painterly image and thus examines the power of subjectivity in memory. Influenced by the social, cultural and political changes taking place around her in China, Yu Hong seeks to portray a realistic representation of the everyday experiences which challenge women in China today, exploring how they endure the fragile relationship between tradition, career, family life and social expectations. Yu Hong’s work has been shown extensively in China and abroad, including ‘Golden Sky’, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, ‘In and Out of Time – Yu Hong’, Guangdong Museum of Art; ‘Half Life of a Dream: Contemporary Chinese Art from the Logan Collection’, SFMOMA, San Francisco, USA, 2008; 5th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai Art Museum, China, 2004; Transience — Chinese Experimental Art at the End of the Twentieth Century’, The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, USA, 1999; 47th Venice Biennale, 1997 and the 45th Venice Biennale, 1993 in Venice, Italy, with participation in major museum including National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece and Tomayo Art Museum, Mexico City, Mexico.

Yu Hong
Born in China 1966
1984 - 1988 Bachelor of Fine arts, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
1994 - 1996 Master of Fine Arts, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
Lives and works in Beijing, China

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2010　Golden Sky, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
2009　In and Out of Time – Yu Hong, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
2007　Yu Hong: Witness to Growth, Eslite Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2006　Yu Hong, Loft Gallery, Paris, France
　　　Yu Hong: Figure and Ground, Loft Gallery, Paris, France
2003　A Woman's Life: The Art of Yu Hong, Halsey Gallery, College of Charleston, USA
　　　Yu Hong: Witness to Growth, Museum of Hubei Academy of Fine Art, Wuhan, China
2002　Yu Hong: Witness to Growth, The East Modern Art Center, Beijing, China
　　　Yu Hong: Witness to Growth, He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
1990　Yu Hong's Painting, Gallery of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China

Selected Group Exhibitions
2010　ZHAOXING——Artwork from the Faculty of the Central Academy of Fine Arts，Art Museum, Central Academy of Fine Arts，Beijing， China
　　　Shanghai Bund Origin Project, Former British Consulate, Shanghai, China
　　　Swatch-Switzerland in My Eyes, Swiss Pavilion, Shanghai World Expo, Shanghai, China
　　　30 Years of Chinese Painting, Minsheng Museum of Art, Shanghai, China
　　　Reshaping History: China Art 2000-2009,
　　　National Convention Center, Today Art Museum, Arario Gallery, Beijing, China
2009　Art In Use, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong
2008　Half Life of a Dream: Contemporary Chinese Art fromthe Logan Collection, SFMOMA, San Francisco, USA
　　　Face and Faces, Galeria Dolores de Sierra, Madrid, Spain
　　　Fresh Ink: Ten Takes on Tradition, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
2007　Made in China, Louisiana Museum of Morden Art,
　　　Copenhagen, Denmark; Jerusalem, Israel
　　　Energy and Character, China Art Museum, Beijing, China
2006　Another Look, Long March Space, Beijing, China
　　　Long　March Capital, Long March Space, Beijing, China
　　　The Grand Promenade, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
　　　Stern Eye—Early Contemporary Chinese Painting, Beijing, China
　　　The Blossoming of Realism: The Oil Painting of Mainland China since 1978, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan
2005　History of River – The Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition in New Era,
　　　National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
　　　2nd Beijing Biennial Art Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
　　　The Wall – Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art,
　　　Millennium Art Museum, Beijing, China
　　　Contemporary Chinese Art, Tomayo Art Museum, Mexico
　　　Sharjah Biennial 7, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2004　Dreaming of the Dragon’s Nation – Contemporary
　　　Art Exhibition from China, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
2004　Shanghai Biennale: Techniques of the Visible, Shanghai, China
　　　Regeneration: Contemporary Chinese Art from China and the US, Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University, PA, USA
2003　1st Beijing Biennial Art Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
　　　3rd Exhibition of Chinese Oil Painting, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
　　　An Opening Era, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2002　A Decade of Experimental Chinese Art – Guanzhou Triennial,
　　　Guangdong ArtMuseum, Guangzhou, China
　　　Beijing-Paris, Pierre Cardin Art Center, Paris, France
　　　East + West Chinese Contemporary Art, Austria
2001　Living in Time, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany
　　　China Art Now, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
　　　Towards a New Image 1981-2001 20 Years of Contemporary Chinese Painting, National Art Museum of China, Shanghai Art Museum, Guangzhou Art Museum
　　　Chengdu Biennial, Chengdu Modern Art Museum, Chengdu, China
2000　Nature: The Third Exhibition of the World of Woman Artists,
　　　Beijing International Art Center, Beijing, China
　　　Exhibition of Paper Work, Gallery of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
　　　Time of Reviving - Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Art in 2000, Upriver Art Museum, Chengdu, China
　　　China Art in the 20th Century China Art Museum, Shanghai Art Museum, China
1999　Transience – Chinese Experimental Art at the End of the Twentieth Century,
　　　The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, USA
1998　Century Woman, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
1997　47th Biennale of International Art Exhibition, Venice, Italy
　　　The Portrait of Chinese Oil Painting in the Last 100 Years, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
1996　The Exhibition of the Association of Chinese Oil Painting,
　　　National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
1995　The Second Exhibition of the World of Woman Artists,
　　　Beijing International Art Center, Beijing, China
1994　Transformation, Mark Tancy Studio, New York, USA
1993　45th Biennale of International Art Exhibition, Venice, Italy
　　　Chinese Avant-garde, Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt, Berlin, Germany, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Holland, The Museum of Modern Art, England
1991　Century – National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
　　　China Annual Oil Painting Exhibition, China History Museum, Beijing, China
　　　The New Generation Art Exhibition, China History Museum, Beijing, China
1990　The World of Woman Artists, Gallery of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
1989　Monte Carlo International Art Show, Monte Carlo, Monaco
　　　Exhibition of Chinese Woman Artists, Macao, Japan
　　　The 7th Chinese Fine Arts Exhibition, Nanjing, China
1988　The Sketch Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
　　　Nude Painting Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
1986　The 1st Oil Painting Exhibition of China, Shanghai Art Museum, China

Public Collections
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Dong Yu Art Museum, China
Shanghai Art Museum, China
Upriver Art Museum, China
China Art Gallery, China
Ludwig Museum, Germany