Yu Yan is an interdisciplinary artist based in Santa Fe. She earned her Master’s degree with distinction from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a dual Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Studio Arts from Smith College, where she was awarded the Megan Hart Jones Prize. Her practice is rooted in research-driven projects that explore the complex layers of migration, displacement, and memory across both natural environments and human landscapes, using photography, video, and installation.
Her work has been exhibited across the United States, Greece, the UK, Scotland, Poland, South Korea, Japan, and China. Alongside her artistic practice, Yu has held roles at renowned institutions such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Magnum Photos, and the Aperture Foundation.
Education
2019-2022 Harvard University, MDes., Art, Design, and the Public Domain Program
2014-2018 Smith College, B.A., Studio Arts; Economics
Residency
2020.10-2021.2 The Swatch Art Peace Hotel Artist-in-Residence Program, Shanghai, China
Selected Exhibitions
2025.9 8th Photometria in Motion, Ioannina, Greece
2025.7 SURFACE: Emerging Artists in New Mexico, Harwood Art Center, Albuquerque, NM, U.S.
2025.5 So It Goes, Wassaic Project 2025 Summer Exhibition, Wassaic, NY, U.S.
2025.3 SONA Immersive Storytelling Festival, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.
2025.1 Nikon Film Festival
2024.9 Sound 2024, Phoenix Theatre, Leicester, UK
2023.6. Sight/Geist, The 8th Floor, Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, New York, NY, U.S.
2022.12 Utopia, The Holy Art, Athens, Greece
2022.10 The One International Digital Art Contes, Forum Gallery, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
2022.9 Materialism in Reminiscing, the BLANC gallery, New York, U.S.
2022.10 The Hand at Fenix Arts, Fayetteville, AR, U.S.
2022.9 Color 2022 Juried Exhibition, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gimpo, South Korea
2022.3 It’s All Fun Time, Safehouse 1&2, London, UK
2022.5 BLOOM!, R.W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, LA, U.S.
2022.1 Stem: Anhui Young Contemporary Artists Archives Show, Yi Art Institute, Hefei, China
2021.12 PPPPRESS, Wiesner Gallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, U.S.
2021.10 Self-introduction, 40 Kirkland Gallery, Cambridge, U.S.
2021.6 Spectacle of Remnants, Harvard ChinaGSD, online
2021.1 Wanderers on the Bund, Fuji X Space, Shanghai, China
2021.1 REDIRECTING, Tree Art Museum, Beijing, China
2020.8 Adventures of 500 Film Cameras, Fuji X Space, Shanghai, China
2020.5 Windows of Harvard, Harvard Art Office, Cambridge, U.S.
2020.4 Pandemic, 40 Kirkland Gallery, Cambridge, U.S.
2019.10 HOME-ing, 40 Kirkland Gallery, Cambridge, U.S.
2019.8 Second Meihodo International Youth Visual Media Festival, Fukuoka, Japan
2019.8 Out of Focus /Ambiguë, Vanities Gallery, Paris, France
2019.7 International Photography Exhibition, Glasgow International Photography Gallery, Glasgow, UK
2019.2 Here, There, World Trade Center, New York, U.S.
2019.1 Solo Exhibition: Epidermis, Yi Art Institute, Hefei, China
2018.12 Surface, Loosen Art Gallery, Rome, Italy
2018.11 First Harvard Biennial, Harvard Carpenter Center for Visual Arts, Cambridge, U.S.
2018.11 Conceptual, Blank Wall Gallery, Athens, Greece
2018.4 Always Been(), Jonatta Gallery, Northampton, USA
2018.1 Now Feast, Jonaotta Gallery, Northampton, USA
2017.8 Solo Exhibition: Ah:, Globe Hostel, Hefei, China
Publications
2022.12 The Digital Chroma Agency
2023.1 Al-Tiba9 Artist Interview
2022.11 LiTang, Artist Interview
2020.4 Orenda Art Works, Art En+During
2019.12 Issue 03 Harvard MDes Test Print, OUTTASPACE
2018.12 F-Stop Magazine, Issue#92. Artist Feature
2018.11 Blacklist Journal, vol. 3, Brandeis University. Chinatown Archive featured as the cover
2019.11 A5 Magazine, Portfolio #20. Artist Feature
2017.4 Voices and Visions Journal, vol. 8, Smith College
Awards
2019 Second MEIHODO International Youth Visual Arts Festival Nominee
2018 Megan Hart Jones Studio Art Prize