BIO
Xinyu Zhang is a versatile interdisciplinary artist known for her installations, paintings, digital art, web, and graphic design.
In 2019, Zhang held her first solo museum exhibition "Wander Around," at the University of Arizona Museum of Art. Featuring installation, paintings, and CGI video, earned critical acclaim and was highlighted on Arizona Illustrated. Zhang was an artist-in-residence at Centrum in 2025 and a finalist in the Taiwan International Artist Grand Prize (2019), Arizona Biennial (2018), and Chelsea International Fine Art Competition (2015). She's also a recipient of the New Works Project Grant from the Art Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona.
Born in Hunan, China, Xinyu Zhang holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Peking University and an MFA degree from the University of Arizona School of Art.
news
Paper Wall - installation proposal
Presentation: as one of the top 5 entrants in the 2022 ArtWins Arizona pitch night competition. July 14, 2022, Phoenix, Arizona.
Wander Around (mixed media painting+CGI animation+installation)
Solo exhibition, April 20 -Aug.11, 2019, the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
Solo exhibition, April 20 -Aug.11, 2019, the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
by Olivia Miller
How many times have you checked your smart device today? Do you feel a sense of anxiety when you leave it somewhere? Would you feel comfortable taking a road trip without it?
Using a combination of materials, artist Xinyu Zhang explores the ever-increasing roles that technology plays in humans’ daily lives. She paints the figures with acrylic paint, the texture of the paint referencing the physical nature of the human body. The digitally created environment in which the figures wander symbolizes the virtual worlds that people now inhabit.
In some of Zhang’s works, digital elements create barriers between people—they wander alone, oblivious of one another. In other pieces, the human figures interact despite of and perhaps even because of the digital elements. These two modes of representation serve as a metaphor for the duality of technology itself. Technology keeps us connected and informed about our world. People have found family, rekindled friendships, and networked in ways that were never possible before. Yet there are fundamental concerns with these forms of communication. Are our virtual relationships physically isolating? Is technology inhibiting our ability to form deep connections with one another?
ARIZONA, Summer 2019
New Works Project Grant awardees, April 2019
Thank you!