He Shaotong
He Shaotong
He Shaotong was born in Beijing in 1990. He graduated from the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University in 2012 and from the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart (ABK Stuttgart) in 2019. During his studies at ABK Stuttgart, he conducted independent research and artistic creation under the guidance of renowned artist and curator Christian Jankowski. From 2021 to 2022, he served as a guest lecturer at ABK Stuttgart, and from 2022 to 2024, he worked as an instructor in the Media Studio and CAD Laboratory at ABK Stuttgart. Currently, the artist lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.
He Shaotong’s practice spans various media, including performance art, sculpture, installation, and spatial interaction. The exhibited work, A fractured hand, takes the form of a sculpture that merges content from the first chapter, “Darkening,” of the literary work Solaris with the artist’s daily training movements on parallel bars. Starting from the subtle yet constant risk of injury in routine training, the work extends into an exploration of the balance between “uncontrollable crisis” and “self-mastery.” Constructed from hard materials such as metal, the sculpture conveys a strong sense of masculine power. Yet, this power is deliberately fractured through the image of a “broken arm,” creating a stark contrast between hardness and fragility. The partially melting human face at the front of the sculpture further intensifies this contradiction: cold, rigid materials coexist with soft, sagging forms within the same object, resulting in a layered structure of multiple conflicts. It is precisely within these conflicting visual and material logics that the “craftedness” of the work becomes prominent. Through multiple transformations between material, movement, and literary imagery (his act of “placeholder”), the artist’s spiritual expression takes shape as a complex and contradictory sculptural language.
He Shaotong’s practice spans various media, including performance art, sculpture, installation, and spatial interaction. The exhibited work, A fractured hand, takes the form of a sculpture that merges content from the first chapter, “Darkening,” of the literary work Solaris with the artist’s daily training movements on parallel bars. Starting from the subtle yet constant risk of injury in routine training, the work extends into an exploration of the balance between “uncontrollable crisis” and “self-mastery.” Constructed from hard materials such as metal, the sculpture conveys a strong sense of masculine power. Yet, this power is deliberately fractured through the image of a “broken arm,” creating a stark contrast between hardness and fragility. The partially melting human face at the front of the sculpture further intensifies this contradiction: cold, rigid materials coexist with soft, sagging forms within the same object, resulting in a layered structure of multiple conflicts. It is precisely within these conflicting visual and material logics that the “craftedness” of the work becomes prominent. Through multiple transformations between material, movement, and literary imagery (his act of “placeholder”), the artist’s spiritual expression takes shape as a complex and contradictory sculptural language.
Exhibitions