Jiatong Yuan
Born 1994, China
Exhibition
Solo
2026
30th April - 4th May, Irritation and Flow, Kira Streletzki, Berlin, Germany
Group
2026
18th - 21th June, RCA degree show, London(upcoming)
4th - 10th May, Soft Witness:50 Stories of Us, Roha Gallery, London, UK
20th March – 25th April, The Drunken Boat, Haricot Gallery, London, UK
3rd January - 7th February, She is a tree, Small Gallery, London,UK
2025
18th September – 22nd March, MYO Kings Cross, Hurst Contemporary & A Space For Art, London, UK
19th February – 22nd March, Daphne’s Daughters, Trio Show, Mey Gallery, Los Angeles, US
2024
18th – 21st October, In Days of Heatwave II: Among the Hydrocommons, Safehouse 2, London, UK
28th September – 2nd November Symbiont: Collective Threads of Ecological Study, HYPHA Studios, London, UK
12th September – 24th October I Am Rooted, but I Flow, Mey Gallery, Los Angeles, US
12th – 16th July, Goldsmiths Art and Ecology Degree Show, Richard Hoggart Building, London, UK
2014–2015
Annual College Outstanding Works Exhibition, Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts Museum, China
Publication
2025 Soft Witness: 50 Artists, 50 Stories (ISBN: 978-1068293009)
2024 “Tomorrow is a Lie”, Journal of Art and Ecology, Vol. 3 (ISSN 2977-0602)
2024 Zine: In Days of Heatwave II: Among the Hydrocommons
Award
2025 Basil H. Alkazzi Scholarship Award
Education
2025-2026 MA Painting, Royal College of Art, London
2023-2024 MA Art and Ecology, the Goldsmiths, University of London, Distinction
2012-2016 BA Photography, Luxun Academy of Fine Arts
Artist Statement
In short, I believe I depict life, but not from a human-centred perspective, as history is “too human.” As an artist, I strive to engage with materials in a careful and respectful way. My work draws inspiration from film, music, and walking.
My recent practice explores the relationships between bodily perception, material processes, and natural systems, moving fluidly between macro and micro scales. I am interested in forms of life beyond the human—such as plants, sound, and microorganisms—which I understand as part of an interconnected network. For me, painting is a process of continuous exploration and negotiation within an ever-changing contemporary world. I understand colour as energy and space, and I am drawn to the freedom of non-figurative colour, using contrast to generate emotional intensity and a sense of openness.
My process typically begins by soaking the canvas with water-based pigments to establish a fluid ground. I then build up layers with slow-drying oil paint, allowing the work to unfold through varying speeds, rhythms, and durations. My brushstrokes oscillate between control and contingency, generating, resisting, and reshaping forms. Fine, delicate marks are often juxtaposed with thicker, more forceful ones, emphasising the materiality of the paint. My practice is also informed by classical Chinese painting, particularly its emphasis on stillness, calligraphic brushwork, and the movement of the wrist.
My earlier work emphasised “power”, while my recent work turns towards “vulnerability”—embracing my own vulnerability while caring to that of others. This openness and subtleness becomes a form of resilience and strength, and also acts as a resistance to the dominance of masculinity in the culture. I aim to create intimate and nuanced perceptual spaces, inviting viewers to engage closely and to resonate emotionally through subtle shifts in perception. The pictorial space often evokes a dreamlike intuition, where disturbance and flow, chaos and harmony, coexist.