Yin Xiuzhen

Yin Xiuzhen was born in 1963 in Beijing, China. She graduated from Capital Normal University in 1989. She currently lives and works in Beijing.  

Most well-known for her works that incorporate second-hand objects, Yin uses her artwork to explore modern issues of globalization and homogenization. By utilizing recycled materials as sculptural documents of memory, she seeks to personalize objects and allude to the lives of specific individuals, which are often neglected in the drive toward excessive urbanization, rapid modern development, and the growing global economy. Yin uses memory as a critical tool to examine the political, social and environmental constructs that surround her. Through collection and assemblage of old materials in a new context, Yin is able to weave past experiences together with the present. In this way, she embraces the notion of memory and experience in an attempt to convey aspects of individual lives in relation to global transformation.

Yin Xiuzhen’s solo exhibitions include “Nowhere to Land” at Pace Beijing, “Yin Xiuzhen” at the Groninger Museum and the Kunstmuseum Dusseldorf, “Second Skin” at Pace Beijing, and “Project 92” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She has participated in significant international exhibitions including the DARK MOFO Art Festival, the Moscow Contemporary Art Biennale, the Kiev International Biennale of Contemporary Art, the Yokohama Triennale, the Shanghai Biennale, the Venice Biennale, the Sydney Biennale, the Sao Paolo Biennale, and “Inside Out: New Chinese Art” organized by Asia Society New York and SFMoMA. She has received a range of prestigious awards including the China Contemporary Art Award (CCAA) and the 2000 UNESCO/ASCHBERG award.