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Yunyao Zhang

YUNYAO ZHANG

When the Surface Thinks White Cube 30 October–18 December 2026 Hong Kong
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Press Release

White Cube Hong Kong presents ‘When the Surface Thinks’, a solo exhibition by Paris-based Chinese artist Yunyao Zhang (b. 1985, Shanghai). With this new body of work, the artist contends that meaning can reside within a surface – proposing painting as a sentient field that registers, reflects and thinks.

The exhibition presents large-scale, illusionistic abstractions from Zhang’s ‘Connector’ series (2022–present), tight close-ups of carved heads from the ‘Time’ series (2021–present), and studies of classical statuary. These works subvert the traditions of Soviet Realism and the French Beaux-Arts that informed Zhang’s early academic training.

Central to the artist’s practice is his use of graphite on felt, a material that is both light-absorbent and resistant to revision. Unlike oil on canvas, which allows for overpainting and correction, graphite becomes embedded into the textured plane. Through a sustained and highly physical process, Zhang builds tonal depth across the textile’s flatness, creating images that appear at once sculptural and weightless.

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Installation Views

Exhibition view: Yunyao Zhang, When the Surface Thinks, White Cube, Hong Kong (30 October–18 December 2026). Courtesy White Cube.
Exhibition view: Yunyao Zhang, When the Surface Thinks, White Cube, Hong Kong (30 October–18 December 2026). Courtesy White Cube.
Exhibition view: Yunyao Zhang, When the Surface Thinks, White Cube, Hong Kong (30 October–18 December 2026). Courtesy White Cube.
Exhibition view: Yunyao Zhang, When the Surface Thinks, White Cube, Hong Kong (30 October–18 December 2026). Courtesy White Cube.
Exhibition view: Yunyao Zhang, When the Surface Thinks, White Cube, Hong Kong (30 October–18 December 2026). Courtesy White Cube.
Exhibition view: Yunyao Zhang, When the Surface Thinks, White Cube, Hong Kong (30 October–18 December 2026). Courtesy White Cube.
Exhibition view: Yunyao Zhang, When the Surface Thinks, White Cube, Hong Kong (30 October–18 December 2026). Courtesy White Cube.
Exhibition view: Yunyao Zhang, When the Surface Thinks, White Cube, Hong Kong (30 October–18 December 2026). Courtesy White Cube.
Exhibition view: Yunyao Zhang, When the Surface Thinks, White Cube, Hong Kong (30 October–18 December 2026). Courtesy White Cube.
About the Artist

Zhang Yunyao (b. 1985) graduated from the Department of Oil Painting, Academy of Fine Arts at Shanghai Normal University (2007). By incorporating felt as the support for the medium of painting, he attempts to explore the unfixed meaning of emotions and desires.

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Also Exhibiting at White Cube

All Exhibitions
Theaster Gates
THEASTER GATES African Still Life White Cube 4 November–18 December 2026 Seoul
Tracey Emin
TRACEY EMIN I will miss you Yesterday
I will miss you Today
I will miss you Tomorrow
And that’s how it will Always be White Cube 20 October–18 December 2026 Paris
Firenze Lai
FIRENZE LAI North and True North White Cube 13 October–14 November 2026 Mason's Yard, London
About the Gallery

An international art powerhouse, White Cube was established in 1993 in London by art dealer Jay Jopling. In its space on Duke Street, it served as the early exhibition venue for many now internationally acclaimed British artists, including Tracey Emin, Gilbert & George, Rachel Kneebone and Antony Gormley, who still show with the gallery today.

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Address
50 Connaught Road
Central
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Saturday
11am – 7pm
(1)
Hong Kong 50 Connaught Road
White Cube contemporary art gallery in Hong Kong
White Cube
50 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
+852 259 220 00
http://whitecube.com

Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday
11am – 7pm
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