Yang Xinguang was born in 1989 in Hunan province, China, and graduated from the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2007. Throughout more than two decades of artistic practice, he has positioned natural materials—stone, wood, earth, gravel, and plant matter—as both objects of contemplation and his principal media. Concurrently, he has also incorporated artificial materials such as steel rebar, concrete, and paint into his explorations, developing an idiosyncratic artistic vocabulary that spans the dual registers of the material and the conceptual. 

In recent years, Yang has paid close attention to the ways in which natural materials degrade, and how humanity intervenes in these processes. He frequently integrates artificial materials into works predominately composed of soil and dried plants, drawing the organic forms of the natural world into the aesthetic framework of abstract sculpture to generate a new kind of landscape. Resembling living specimens sealed off from natural cycles, these vivid, tension-filled pieces present a distilled contemporary allegory of how the artificial order acts upon the natural world.

In this exhibition, Yang brings these concerns into focus through the central concept of “Dark Surfaces.” The artist uses this term to refer to what ecology and soil science call the “litter layer”—decaying fallen branches and leaves that, along with other fully and partially decomposed animal and plant remains, accumulate on the surface of the earth, year in, year out. Hidden beneath the cover of vegetation, humid, cold, and gloomy, the litter layer is nonetheless a crucial component in the healthy functioning of an ecosystem. Brimming with microscopic biological activity and composed of countless levels, it is a site where death is transformed into new life—as well as one of the most direct interfaces between human activity and the natural world. This specific geographical formation and its associated metaphors serve as the underlying framework for this exhibition, defining its field of inquiry. 

Yang’s largest institutional solo show to date, both in terms of overall scale and the number of commissioned artworks, the exhibition features new installations and sculptures spread across UCCA Dune’s distinctive gallery spaces. Artworks include a large-scale installation that incorporates clay into the artist’s long-term exploration of the formal possibilities of steel rebar; several pieces that expand upon his conceptually-driven technique of encasing natural detritus in paint; and a new series dedicated to exploring the conceptual and sculptural languages inherent to clay. Here, Yang also demonstrates his talent for creating art that organically resonates with specific sites: the exhibition includes a site-specific work created in response to the unique characteristics of UCCA Dune’s outdoor spaces, as well as an experimental re-contextualization of his “Warriors” series.
 
Collectively, these works examine how human emotion, creativity, and aesthetic sensibilities can become unmoored in the natural world. They intervene in, imitate, or deliberately interrupt nature’s life cycles, turning organic materials into heterogeneous objects detached from their original systems. “Dark Surfaces” thus suggests that the relationship between humanity and nature has long since exceeded simple logics of symbiosis or antagonism, and instead unfolds as a deeper entanglement that resists easy resolution.

“Yang Xinguang: Dark Surfaces” is curated by UCCA Chief Curator Chelsea Qianxi Liu. Exclusive wall solutions support is provided by Dulux, and Genelec contributed exclusive audio equipment and technical support. UCCA also thanks the members of UCCA Foundation Council, International Circle, and Young Associates, as well as Lead Partners Aranya and The Donum Estate, Lead Art Book Partner DIOR, Presenting Partner Bloomberg, and Supporting Partners AIA, Barco, Dulux, Genelec, SKP Beijing, Stey, and Wanbo Media Group.