Yang Xin
Layering into Void
2026.03.14 - 05.03
Triumph Gallery will present artist Yang Xin's latest solo exhibition "Layering into Void" from March 14 to May 3, 2026. Curator by Sun Lei, the exhibition features over twenty sculptures from the artist's recent practice, including works from the "Planet Series," "Empty Garment Series," "Forever Series," and "Light-Year Series," complemented by key sketches, drawings, and video works, offering a comprehensive and systematic presentation of the artist's latest creative trajectory.
Yang Xin's sculptures establish a mechanism of resistance from within: they are silent, hard, space-occupying, and refuse easy transformation. With the stubbornness of matter, the purity of form, and the openness of spirit, they confront his own body, actions, and existential experience, as well as a traditional presence. He avoids narrative as much as possible, does not overly rely on symbolism, nor deliberately cater to interpretation. Instead, he establishes an aesthetic ethics belonging to the language itself, existing only between the texture of stone, the layering of blocks, and the breathing of emptiness.
Layering takes substance as its foundation.
Yang Xin's sculptures contain a stubborn power, originating from piety toward objects and reverence for the stone itself. Especially since his prototypes derive from grotto art and Buddhist statuary, he can always access a deeper, more intrinsic power of faith. He insists on pulling us back into a kind of substance—back into the weight of stone, back into a material site that can be touched, confronted, and gazed upon for a long time. Therefore, Yang Xin's "layering" is a reaffirmation of the dignity of matter, constantly reinforcing this confirmation.
Transformation takes void as its body.
Yang Xin's transformation is a gentle loosening of substance, a prudent dissolution of form. It allows closed things to open anew, hard things to generate gaps, and complete things to move toward incompletion. The essence of transformation is not disappearance, but liberation— liberation of form, liberation of meaning, liberation of reality bound tightly by appearance. The meaning of emptiness evoked by "transformation" is essentially the revelation of an Eastern philosophy. It does not point toward nothingness, but toward a humble waiting, a modest promise of what has not yet arrived.
Layering is concentration; transformation is state of mind. Layering is persistence; transformation is transparency. And true beauty is born precisely between substance and void, at the moment of layering and transformation. This is also the most simple truth that stone teaches us.
This is Yang Xin's "Layering into Void" (Die Hua Jue).
Yang Xin's sculptures establish a mechanism of resistance from within: they are silent, hard, space-occupying, and refuse easy transformation. With the stubbornness of matter, the purity of form, and the openness of spirit, they confront his own body, actions, and existential experience, as well as a traditional presence. He avoids narrative as much as possible, does not overly rely on symbolism, nor deliberately cater to interpretation. Instead, he establishes an aesthetic ethics belonging to the language itself, existing only between the texture of stone, the layering of blocks, and the breathing of emptiness.
Layering takes substance as its foundation.
Yang Xin's sculptures contain a stubborn power, originating from piety toward objects and reverence for the stone itself. Especially since his prototypes derive from grotto art and Buddhist statuary, he can always access a deeper, more intrinsic power of faith. He insists on pulling us back into a kind of substance—back into the weight of stone, back into a material site that can be touched, confronted, and gazed upon for a long time. Therefore, Yang Xin's "layering" is a reaffirmation of the dignity of matter, constantly reinforcing this confirmation.
Transformation takes void as its body.
Yang Xin's transformation is a gentle loosening of substance, a prudent dissolution of form. It allows closed things to open anew, hard things to generate gaps, and complete things to move toward incompletion. The essence of transformation is not disappearance, but liberation— liberation of form, liberation of meaning, liberation of reality bound tightly by appearance. The meaning of emptiness evoked by "transformation" is essentially the revelation of an Eastern philosophy. It does not point toward nothingness, but toward a humble waiting, a modest promise of what has not yet arrived.
Layering is concentration; transformation is state of mind. Layering is persistence; transformation is transparency. And true beauty is born precisely between substance and void, at the moment of layering and transformation. This is also the most simple truth that stone teaches us.
This is Yang Xin's "Layering into Void" (Die Hua Jue).
Yang Xin
Yang Xin, born in 1982 in Hunan Province, is an artist, independent scholar, and connoisseur specializing in antiquities. Coming from a family lineage of carpenters and lacquer artisans, he majored in Visual Communication during his university years before dedicating himself to the study of ancient Buddhist sculpture. He remains active across academic, artistic, and cultural heritage circles.
With his profound scholarly foundation and distinctive artistic vision, Yang Xin integrates the spiritual essence of traditional Chinese sculpture into contemporary practice, cultivating an aesthetic characterized by archaic simplicity, serene stillness, and the weight of temporal depth. At the core of his sculptural work lies the principle of "Drawing from the Past to Serve the Present"—preserving the quintessence of ancient Chinese sculptural art while infusing it with contemporary aesthetic expression. Employing stone materials and traditional carving techniques once used by ancient craftsmen, he transforms cold stone into vibrant artworks through the warmth of his hands. Yang Xin seeks to re-examine the philosophical dialogue between humanity and nature—the concept of "Unity of Heaven and Humanity"—from a cosmic perspective, rediscovering the pure beauty of life's tranquility, kindness, and inclusiveness.
Yang Xin's works and research have garnered high acclaim in both academic and artistic circles. His monograph Fan Wu Zhi (Chronicles of Buddhist Objects) is regarded as a significant contribution to the study of ancient Buddhist sculpture. He has been invited to participate in numerous academic events on ancient Chinese Buddhist art at institutions including the China Academy of Art, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the Longmen Grottoes Research Institute. His works have been exhibited at prestigious venues such as Guardian Art Week in Beijing (2025), the Yungang Art Museum in Datong, Shanxi (2024), the Powerlong Art Center in Shanghai (2023), and the Jiemo Art Museum in Nanjing (2022).
With his profound scholarly foundation and distinctive artistic vision, Yang Xin integrates the spiritual essence of traditional Chinese sculpture into contemporary practice, cultivating an aesthetic characterized by archaic simplicity, serene stillness, and the weight of temporal depth. At the core of his sculptural work lies the principle of "Drawing from the Past to Serve the Present"—preserving the quintessence of ancient Chinese sculptural art while infusing it with contemporary aesthetic expression. Employing stone materials and traditional carving techniques once used by ancient craftsmen, he transforms cold stone into vibrant artworks through the warmth of his hands. Yang Xin seeks to re-examine the philosophical dialogue between humanity and nature—the concept of "Unity of Heaven and Humanity"—from a cosmic perspective, rediscovering the pure beauty of life's tranquility, kindness, and inclusiveness.
Yang Xin's works and research have garnered high acclaim in both academic and artistic circles. His monograph Fan Wu Zhi (Chronicles of Buddhist Objects) is regarded as a significant contribution to the study of ancient Buddhist sculpture. He has been invited to participate in numerous academic events on ancient Chinese Buddhist art at institutions including the China Academy of Art, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the Longmen Grottoes Research Institute. His works have been exhibited at prestigious venues such as Guardian Art Week in Beijing (2025), the Yungang Art Museum in Datong, Shanxi (2024), the Powerlong Art Center in Shanghai (2023), and the Jiemo Art Museum in Nanjing (2022).
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Curator
Curator
Sun Lei
Sun Lei, poet, artist, and curator. He has received numerous awards including the "10th Rougang Poetry Prize," "2003 First China Annual Best Poet Award," "1979–2005 Top Ten Outstanding Chinese Poets Award," "2011 LINGDIAN Extraordinary Literary Figure · Poet Award," "2017 Jinan Annual Cultural Figure Award," and "2017 Avant-Garde Poetry Award." His works have been translated into English, French, Spanish, German, Korean, and other languages. He has participated in major events such as the "Peking University Weiming Poetry Festival," "Nordic Art Festival," "Boston International Poetry Festival," "China Millennium Monument International Poetry Festival," "Qinghai International Poetry Festival," and "East Asia International Poetry Festival." He has published poetry collections including Performance (《演奏》), Whereabouts (《去向》), Situation (《处境》), The Power of Non-Birth (《无生之力》), Sun Lei's Poetry and Prose Collection (《孙磊诗文集》), Punctum (《刺点》), Elsewhere (《别处》), and The Delusionist (《妄念者》). He currently lives and works in Jinan.