Yuyu Zhitong

BIOGRAPHY

Yuyu Zhitong (b. 1993, Guangzhou, China) is an artist based in London. She received a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours from the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, in 2020, completed an exchange programme at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in France in 2019, and earned a Master of Arts from the Royal College of Art in the UK in 2023.

Zhitong’s practice is driven by a flamboyant and poetic energy, grounded in a deep exploration of gestural brushwork. She approaches painting as a form of logical play, continually challenging established ideas of knowledge, emotion, and perception. Influenced by her interest in natural sciences and mathematics, she employs a reasoning process akin to reductio ad absurdum, drawing conclusions from improbable or absurd premises to resolve complex visual problems. This methodology results in works marked by structure, richness, mystery, and fantasy.

Her paintings often carry a swirling, almost musical rhythm that reflects her background in traditional, folk, and contemporary Chinese dance. Movement and bodily expression play a central role in her work, emphasizing emotional perception and nonverbal communication. Through a recurring palette of ultramarine and magenta, Zhitong weaves together elements of mystery and immediacy, balancing light and shadow, vivid and softened color, and abstract and figurative forms. This interplay ultimately brings together motion and stillness, as well as rationality and sensibility.

Her recent exhibitions include presentations at the Hong Kong Arts Centre (2024), a duo exhibition at Palm Gallery, Taiwan (2024), and a solo exhibition at cadet capela in France.