Shi Yong (born 1963) is a representative figure of contemporary Chinese artists who first started working with installation and video media. Since 1993, his works have been widely exhibited both in China and abroad. His earliest artistic practices focused on revealing the subtlety of our reality and the inherent tension of the "system". Since the end of 1990s, Shi began focusing on the idea of Shanghai’s transformations under the Chinese economic reform, which contributed to a discussion of globalization and consumerism. Since 2006, with the work Sorry, There will be no Documenta in 2007, he turned his attention to the art world itself, pondering how to provide a more rational perspective through his creative works. Shi Yong’s 2015 solo exhibition Let All Potential Be Internally Resolved Using Beautiful Form continues his artistic practice, disclosing his intention to expand the reflection and practice of “control” under the seemingly “abstract” future.
Main exhibition include: The Fourth Today's Documents, A Stitch in Time(Group Exhibition), Today Art Museum, Beijing(2019); Society Guidance: Part II(Group Exhibition), UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2019); A Fairy Tale in Red Times (Group Exhibition), Works from the White Rabbit Collection, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourn, Australia(2019); A ( ) Bird be Released from the Top of a Certain Tower (Solo Exhibition), Boxes Art Museum, Foshan (2018); Shi Yong: Under the Rule, ShanghART, Shanghai (2017); Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, Ekaterinburg (2015); Let All Potential be Internally Resolved using Beautiful Form (Solo Exhibition), MadeIn Gallery (2015); Off-Site Programme, Silent Film, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (2014); Think carefully, where have you been yesterday?, (Solo Exhibition) BizART, Shanghai (2007); Second Guangzhou Triennale, Guangsong Museum of Art, Guangdong; Felicidad Indecible (Unspeakable Happiness), Arte contemporáneo de China, Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico (2005); Follow Me!, Contemporary Chinese Art at the Threshold of the New Millennium, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan(2005); The Heaven The World, Solo Show by Shi Yong in 2 Parts, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai; XXV Bienal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2002); Money and Value, The Last Taboo, Switzerland (2002); 4th Shanghai Biennale, Urban Creation, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai (2002); Unpacking Europe, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands(2001); Living in Time, 29 Contemporary Artists from China, National galerie im Hamburger Bahnhof Museum fuer Gegenwartskunst, Berlin, Germany(2001); The Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia(1999); Art for Sale, Shanghai Plaza, Shanghai(1999); Cities on the Move, world tour exhibition(1997-1999); Two Attitudes Toward Identity 93, Qian Weikang & Shi Yong Installation Works Show, Gallery of Shanghai Huashan Art Vocational School, Shanghai(1993) etc.
