Born in Jiangsu, 1978, Xiaojing Yan currently lives and works in Toronto. She received a MFA in sculpture from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2007 and a BFA from Nanjing University of the Arts in 2000. Yan’s work embodies the sense about her own multicultural identity, reflecting her journeys in different cultures, through which she has acquired her own personal vocabulary. Her unique perspective blends past and present, encompassing culture and nature, art and science. Presented in 2022 Kunming Museum of Contemporary Art’s group exhibition “The Language of Mushrooms: The Interspecies Internet”, Yan’s work Lingzhi Girl (2016–2017) focuses on the illusion of transcending nature brought about by technological progress to human beings. Taking “Lingzhi” (Ganoderma lucidum) as an innovative green material, she evokes associations with traditional Chinese medicine, mythology and religion, at the same time, reminders the role of environmental sustainability in contemporary art creation.

Yan has presented her solo exhibitions at numerous venues, including Hermes, Shanghai; Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC Canada; Chinese American Arts Council/Gallery 456, New York; Suzhou Museum, Suzhou; Varley Art Gallery, Markham, ON. Additionally, she has been commissioned for public art projects in both Canada and China, including Zodiac Project (2021) and Cloudscape (2019) by Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON; Emergence, Hermès, Shanghai (2021). Yan has received numerous awards/grants, including Young Alumni Achievement Award, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2014); grants from Canada Council for the Arts; Chalmers Professional Development Projects Grant, Mid-Career Artist Grant, Ontario Arts Council; OAAG Exhibition Installation and Design Award, Ontario Associate of Art Galleries (2018).