YU Xiao

YU Xiao cuts, folds, and reassembles the canvas. Through this radical gesture, Yu exposes the hidden structure of painting and explores the physical trauma and sensory memory of women’s experiences, long marginalised by society. For Yu, a painting is not a static image but a ‘living body’ that can be wounded, mourned, and ultimately reclaiming freedom. Her work poses bold, incisive questions that challenge the conventions of traditional painting.

Born in Hangzhou, China, YU Xiaos working and living in London. She received an MFA from Central Saint Martins and is a practice-led PhD candidate at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London. Yu’s work has been exhibited internationally, including in Hong Kong, London, and Los Angeles, earning growing global recognition.

Yu describes her method as a ‘reverse technique of incision.’ By deliberately slicing the canvas, she exposes the wooden stretcher bars—typically hidden from view—and reveals stains on the reverse side of the fabric. “The stretcher,” she notes, “which has always served as the painting’s humble servant, now steps into the light to take center stage.” Crumpled balls of discarded masking tape and red dots stamped on the surface form a symbolic lexicon unique to her work—signs of both wounding and vitality.

Through this process, The artist translates emotions such as grief and shame into tangible material device. She describes the ‘Dot Conspiracy’ as a whimsical yet subversive concept that fuels her practice, imagining the red ‘sold’ stickers commonly seen in galleries as defiant ‘secret agents’ operating beneath the surface of the art world. Even as she engages with heavy and painful themes, Yu finds room for playfulness and resistance.

At this year’s Kiaf, YU Xiao presents her ongoing series ‘Da Vinci’s Mirror’, which investigates the thresholds between perception and perspective, reality and abstraction. She hopes that viewers will have a visceral encounter with her work. “When standing in front of a slashed canvas,” Yu says, “I want viewers to feel their skin prickle.” Her works are not merely to be seen but to be sensed, offering a profound meeting of body and image.

Da Vinci’s Mirror No.60.1001, Acrylic on Canvas, stained stretcher, previously applied, masking tape, 60x80cm, 2025