Yesiyu Zhao is a Chinese queer artist based in New York whose practice investigates the fluidity of identity and the resonance of the embodied experience. While Zhao’s previous work utilized "hybrid" forms to navigate the intersections of Chinese heritage, American culture, and queer identity, their current practice transcends these literal markers to capture the ontological frequency of the figure. Moving beyond anatomical boundaries, Zhao prioritizes the interstitial spaces and energetic interactions that exist between defined identities. Within these shifting fields, fragments of Peking Opera patterns move in and out of abstraction as butterfly motifs—a dual metaphor for the metamorphosis of the human spirit and the "butterfly effect" of our interconnected presence. By dissolving the cultural and technological constructions of earlier series, Zhao’s work, held in international museum collections, captures the essential, vibrational pulse of humanity that remains when external norms are stripped away.
Yesiyu Zhao (1991) was born in Zhejian Province, China, and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts (2018) and his MFA from SUNY Purchase College (2020). Recent exhibitions include Tomorrow Is Already Behind, Lyles and King Gallery, New York, NY (2025); To Bloom, The Page Gallery, Seoul, Korea (2025); Birth of the Between, Latitude Gallery, New York, NY (2025); Yesterday I became human, Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai (2024); Nostalgic Mayfly, StillLife, Shanghai, China (2024); Holiday, Harper’s Books, New York, NY (2024); Alien, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL (2024); Teach Me How to Fish, Art Intelligence Global, Hong Kong (2024); Double Vision, Plato Gallery, New York, NY (2024); The Armory Show, David Castillo Gallery, New York, NY (2024); NADA Miami, Latitude Gallery, Miami, FL (2024); Basel Miami, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL (2024).
