Ming Yang
Ming Yang is a multimedia artist, graphic designer and curator from Beijing, China, whose practice is marked by audacious imagery and a progressive conceptual approach. Working across a range of scales, Ming creates paintings and concepts that investigate the intersections of beauty, politics, memory, and collective experience. Beyond his studio practice, he is an entrepreneur, a dedicated car and watch enthusiast, an educator at a nonprofit organization, and a trusted friend to many.
Ming Yang. Photo Courtesy: the artist.
Twin Flame Slide, 2024, Digital. Photo Courtesy: Ming Yang.
From an early age, Ming has been a visual thinker, constructing his thoughts and observations through drawing. As a child, he spoke little, preferring instead to watch the world attentively and commit its details to memory through relentless observation and sketching. This early fascination with depiction sparked his enduring devotion to beauty in its many forms. A decisive moment came in 2015 when Ming attended a high school art program in the United States—an experience that laid the foundation for his artistic mindset and instilled a lasting commitment to creative exploration.
Nose Bleeding, 2019, Ink on paper. Photo Courtesy: Ming Yang.
Full Back, 2019, Ink on paper. Photo Courtesy: Ming Yang.
Ming completed his undergraduate studies in Illustration at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York, where his work centered on hand-drawn techniques and traditional studio practice. After graduating, he returned to hometown Beijing and worked across various industries for two years—a period that revealed to him the expressive limits of painting alone. This realization prompted a transition toward more conceptual and socially engaged forms of art-making. He subsequently returned to New York to pursue a Master’s degree in Art Education at New York University (NYU), with a focus on community-based practice. There, he developed projects that employed experimental actions and site-specific interventions to connect diverse social groups. In essence, Ming’s undergraduate work focused on narrative imagery and technical mastery, while his graduate work embraced activism, conceptual thinking, and the transmission of ideas through action.
1984, 2020, Digital. Photo Courtesy: Ming Yang.
今夜无人入眠, 2024, Neon and Glass. Photo Courtesy: Ming Yang.
When asked about his sources of inspiration, Ming responds with characteristic candor and poetry:
“Dreams, light, Beijing, Tiananmen Square, superman, independent individuals, Mao Zedong, political events, Art as Revolution, radical ideas, hip hop, 1984, alcohol.”
“Ping-pong diplomacy” Illustration for Mao’s unknown story, 2020, Ink and Digital. Photo Courtesy: Ming Yang.
shine like a diamond, 2025. Photo Courtesy: Ming Yang.
Ming’s practice is deeply informed by his experience living in Beijing, New York, and Sweden. For Ming: “Movement feels safe; stability feels dangerous.” The continual shifts in his environment and social networks have provided him with new frameworks for understanding and creating. Beijing instilled in him a spirit of tolerance and generosity; New York taught him to withhold judgment; Sweden gifted him an inner calm and a freedom from excessive desire.
矿泉水里装茅台, 2022, Digital. Photo Courtesy: Ming Yang.
ONE SCHOOL ZONE, 2023, Digital. Photo Courtesy: Ming Yang.
“Our actions are products of our past and surroundings—and good artwork is a sign of respect for the world.”
Looking ahead, Ming plans to further his academic pursuits, completing a doctoral degree, forge connections with people from diverse backgrounds, and develop an ambitious, 30-year-long conceptual art project. He aims to transcend the boundaries of art alone, expanding his practice into the realms of sociology and policy through rigorous social research and data-driven inquiry.
Ming Yang. Photo Courtesy: the artist.
Connect with Ming on Instagram: @mingtheyang
Exhibitions:
2024.11 Graphic design works adopted and widely circulated at the National Higher Education Conference (Beijing) 平面设计作品在全高高校教育大会中被采用及广泛传播 （北京）
2024.09 Stranger Dreams group exhibition (New York) Stranger Dreams 群展（纽约）
2024.06 Curated Memories of the Elders exhibition at BRC Senior Center (New York) 作为策展人，在纽约BRC老年活动中心策划《前辈们的回忆》艺术展 （纽约）
2023.10 Illustration works featured in the NYU Art Education Exhibition (New York) 插画作品参与纽约大学艺术教育专业展览（纽约）
2022.09 Poster design for the award-winning film At the Sea by Wenxiao Li at the New York International Film Festival 为纽约国际电影节获奖电影 At the Sea, By Wenxiao Li 绘制海报
2022.03 Women’s Day illustration poster for the Communist Youth League platform, which gained millions of views on major social media platforms 在团中央平台绘制的“三八”国际妇女节插画海报，在各大社交平台获得千万级数据点击量
2021-2022 Co-authored and contributed to the research monograph “Building Long-term Mechanism to promote Talent Development: Practical and Effect Evaluation of Grassroots Talent Cultivation for College Graduates” (China Development Press, 2022, by She Yu et al.) 作为团队成员，参与调研并撰写出版《构建长效机制 促进人才发展：高校毕业生基层人才培养实践与效果评价》研究专著（中国发展出版社，2022年，佘宇等著）
2021.07 Promotional poster for the Emma Hao Real Estate Team displayed on the Times Square billboard (New York) 为纽约Emma Hao 地产团队设计绘制的宣传海报登上时代广场屏幕
2021.06 Illustration work for the “SHIOLOGY” book series 为《食学》系列图书做插画
2021.02 Series of promotional posters included in the Society of Illustrators Student Annual Show 系列宣传海报作品参与美国插画协会学生作品年展
2020.07 Awarded the Outstanding Student Work Scholarship by the SVA Illustration Department 获纽约视觉艺术学院 插画系 优秀学生作品奖学金
2020.06 Received the Semester Honors Award from the SVA Illustration Department 获纽约视觉艺术学院 插画系 学期荣誉奖
2020.04 Work featured in SVA’s Annual Outstanding Illustration Exhibition 作品参加纽约视觉艺术学院 年度优秀插画作品展
2018.02-04 Large self-portrait and outstanding oil painting Tutankhamun II exhibited at the School of Visual Arts (New York) 巨幅自画像 、优秀油画作品 Tutankhamun II 在纽约视觉艺术学院展出
Sherry Wu (Yongyi)
Emerging Artist Co-Editor, MADE IN BED