On the successful completion of the inaugural residency program, the Longlati Foundation is pleased to announce that Zhang Yibei (born in 1992) has been selected as the artist-in-residence for the upcoming year (2022-23). She will begin her residency this month at the artist studio established by the foundation in the Bund area of Shanghai, engaging in a year-long creative practice.
Yibei Zhang, At the pinnacle of despair, 2021, bronze, glass, oil gun, 407 x 33 x 7 cm / 68 x 74 x 56 cm. Collection of Longlati Foundation. Image courtesy of the artist and BANK/MABSOCIETY, Shanghai
The practice of Chinese artists born in the 1990s is one of the key focuses of the Longlati Foundation. While advancing its collection and sponsorship programs, the foundation aims to integrate its unique resources to provide more opportunities for young emerging artists, assisting them in realizing larger and sustainable art projects. All artworks created by the artists during their residency period belong to the artists themselves.
Following the completion of the residency, the Longlati Foundation will support the artist in holding a solo exhibition, utilizing its collection system to explore the early creative context and theoretical trajectory of their artistic career. The upcoming solo exhibition “Dust that Rides the Wind” by Su Yu-xin is the outcome of the inaugural residency project.
Zhang Yibei, Vase, 2021, bronze, glass, ready-made material, 93 x 72 x 75 cm. Collection of Longlati Foundation. Courtesy of the artist
As the selected artist for the next year of the Longlati Artist-in-Residence Program, Zhang Yibei will engage in an organic collaboration with the Longlati Foundation, participating in analysis and discussions related to curation and collection directions. She will also leverage the platform provided by the foundation’s establishment in Shanghai to initiate quarterly open studio events, engaging in in-depth dialogues with scholars, critics, and curators from different regions.
About the Artist
Zhang Yibei’s artworks primarily focus on exploring materials. From an external perspective, there is a greater emphasis on the composition of materials. For example, materials such as silicone, glass, and microchips are primarily composed of silicon, but their different molecular arrangements result in entirely different states. Internally, the focus lies in the extension of “materials.” In contrast, it is not only the artist’s use of materials to create artwork but also the characteristics of the materials themselves that shape the artist, making the artist an extension and reflection of those material properties.
Zhang Yibei, born in Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, China, in 1992, currently works and resides in Beijing. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art in the United Kingdom in 2017 and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Sculpture from the University of the Arts London in 2015. In 2019, she received the 7th Tomorrow Sculpture Award – Annual Award. Some of her recent solo exhibitions include ” A Vase in Everything” (BANK, Shanghai, 2021), “Coupling Relation Between a Prisoner, a Lover and A Spy” (Qi Mu Space, Beijing, 2019), “Stirrups” (Royal College of Art, London, UK, 2017), and “The Pink Slipper on The Side of the Wall” (RCA Project Space, London, UK, 2016).
She has also participated in various group exhibitions, including “Bodily Reaction: Vitalizing the Bare Life” (Taikang Space, Beijing, China, 2023), “Another Asian Artist” (The Shophouse, Hong Kong, 2022), “The Perfect Flaw” (Huayu Youth Award Finalist Exhibition, Sanya, China), “USB” (Qiao Space, Shanghai, China, 2021), “Wisdom of Everyday Life” (Moca-Yinchuan, Yinchuan, China, 2021), “Collaboration, Not for Perfection, but for Contamination” (Huer Space, Beijing, China, 2021), “Morphing In-Between” (Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China, 2020), “Towards a Neo Constructivism” (BANK, Shanghai, China, 2020), “Touching, Feeling” (Huer Space, Beijing, China, 2020), “The 4th Today’s Documents ” (Today Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2019), “Tomorrow Sculpture Award” (Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Art Museum, Chongqing, China, 2019), “Whatever Works, Whatever It Takes” (Goethe-Institut China, German Cultural Center, Beijing, China, 2019), and “3 cm Museum” (chi K11 Art Space, Shenyang, China, 2019).
