Artist Profile Yi Zhu
Yi Zhu, Hello it’s me, 2025, Oil on canvas, 31.5″ x 39.4″ (800 mmｘ1000 mm).
Zhu’s brilliant visual deconstruction translates the visceral logic of breathing into a novel existence.
Artist Statement
Hello, it’s me. I am a new species. I have never existed in this world before. It was the artist who gave me life and brought me into this world. I’m very glad that you can see my existence. Hello, it’s me.
Artist Biography
Yi Zhu is an artist whose works reflect the profound transformations of Chinese society. In his early years, he explored printmaking and illustration, establishing his position as a creator who deconstructs and reconstructs visual language. During the global pandemic, he witnessed the fragility of life and came to recognize breathing as the underlying logic of existence. For him, exhalation represents tension, while inhalation embodies constrictive force — together, they form the paradox of freedom at the core of life. In response to this insight, Zhu has created a large number of oil paintings and printworks, expressing the dialogue between oppression, tension, and liberation. His art is a meditation on resilience and the pursuit of freedom. As a further response, he has produced numerous additional oil paintings and printworks, conveying the interplay between constraint, tension, and emancipation. His artistic practice stands as a contemplation on tenacity and the quest for freedom.