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Ding Yi

A leading figure in Chinese contemporary art, Ding Yi works across painting, sculpture, installation, and architecture. Since the late 1980s, his signature motif—the cross “+” and its variant “x”—has served as a symbol of structure, rationality, and a visual language exploring the essence of being.

Trained in both art and design, Ding Yi began experimenting with abstraction in 1982. During his student years, he developed a strong conviction about how to paint and what kind of artist he would become. Rejecting the Expressionism and Surrealism then prevalent in China, he chose a rational path “free from ideology.” Profoundly influenced by Western artists such as Piet Mondrian and Frank Stella during the 1895 “New Wave” art movement, Ding Yi launched his iconic Appearance of Crosses series in 1988, with a vision to create “an ultimate impression of abstraction”. At the time, he “designed” paintings that resembled plans for fabrics or blankets, using rulers and tape to eliminate traces of hand gestures —rigorously precise compositions formed through the repetition of the cross.

Ding Yi’s methodical structures are animated by vibrant, reflexively chosen colours, introducing an element of chance and tension into the work. Through colour and form, his paintings reflect on China’s rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, with visual motifs echoing QR codes and the sensory intensity of an information-driven society. Since 2010, Ding Yi has adopted a more expansive perspective in his examination of the world, integrating reflections on the broader human condition. His more recent works reveal greater luminosity and intensity, carrying a deeper emotional resonance.

Ding Yi was born in Shanghai in 1962, where he continues to live and work. He studied Design at the Shanghai Art & Design Academy (1980–1983), and later traditional Chinese painting at Shanghai University’s Fine Arts Department (1986–1990). His recent solo exhibitions include those at Mostyn, Llandudno, Wales (2025); Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne (2024), Paris and St. Moritz (2025); Château La Coste, Provence (2024); Ningbo Museum of Art and Huamao Museum of Art Education (2023); MOCAUP, Shenzhen (2023); Mojie Art Museum, Taiyuan (2023); TAG Art Museum, Qingdao (2022); Jebum-gang Art Center, Lhasa (2022); Galería RGR, Mexico City (2022); ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai (2018) and Singapore (2022); Timothy Taylor, New York (2021) and London (2019); Long Museum, Chongqing (2020) and West Bund, Shanghai (2015); Nova Contemporary, Bangkok (2020); Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich (2019); Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou (2018); Xi’an Art Museum (2017); Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan (2016); Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai (2011); and Museo d’Arte Modena di Bologna (2008).

Ding Yi has exhibited extensively in major international group exhibitions at institutions such as The British Museum, London; M+ Museum, Hong Kong; Power Station of Art and MOCA Shanghai; SFMOMA; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and Bilbao; Mercedes-Benz Contemporary, Berlin; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg; MAXXI, Rome; UCCA, Beijing; and touring exhibitions in Bern, Hamburg, and Barcelona. He has also shown in biennales and triennales including the Venice Biennale (1993), Asia-Pacific Triennial (1993), Biennale of Sydney (1998), Yokohama Triennale (2001), Shanghai Biennale (2006), Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale (2012), and Busan Biennale (2016). His work is held in numerous public and private collections, including The British Museum; Centre Pompidou; UBS Art Collection; Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art; City of Hamburg; M+ Collection; The National Art Museum of China; Guangdong Museum of Art; Power Station of Art; MOCA Shanghai; Long Museum; and He Art Museum.

Recent, current and forthcoming projects

'Between Prediction and Retrospection', Mostyn, Llandudno, Wales, UK (15 February - 31 May 2025)

​‘Ding Yi: Constellations’, Galerie Karsten Greve, St. Moritz, Switzerland (5 July - 6 September 2025)

‘Ding Yi: Prediction and Retrospection’, Château La Coste, Aix-en-Provence, France (3 July - 15 Sptember 2024)

‘Crisscrosses: Ding Yi’s Public Art for Twenty Years’, Minghua Sugar Factory, Yangpu Waterfront, Shanghai, China (19 - 26 May 2024)

Appearance of Crosses 2024-10

Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 2024-10

2024
Acrylic and woodcuts on basswood
240 x 240 x 7 cm
94 1/2 x 94 1/2 x 2 3/4 in

Appearance of Crosses 2024-10 (detail)

Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 2024-10 (detail)

2024
Acrylic and woodcuts on basswood

Appearance of Crosses 2016-B10

Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 2016-B10

2016
Chalk and charcoal on Japanese yuu grid paper
500 x 1185 cm
196 7/8 x 466 1/2 in

Appearance of Crosses 2016-B10 (detail)

Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 2016-B10 (detail)

2016
Chalk and charcoal on Japanese yuu grid paper

Appearance of Crosses 2015-7

Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 2015-7

2015
Acrylic and woodcuts on basswood
480 x 240 cm
189 x 94 1/2 in

Appearance of Crosses 2015-7 (detail)

Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 2015-7 (detail)

2015
Acrylic and woodcuts on basswood

Appearance of Crosses 2006-3

Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 2006-3

2006
Acrylic on tartan
135 x 200 cm
53 1/8 x 78 3/4 in

Appearance of Crosses 1996-27

Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 1996-27

1996
Chalk and charcoal on lien
140 x 160 cm
55 1/8 x 63 in

Appearance of Crosses 1991-3

Ding Yi
Appearance of Crosses 1991-3

1991
Acrylic on canvas
140 x 180 cm
55 1/8 x 70 7/8 in

Ding Yi: Prediction and Retrospection

Ding Yi
Ding Yi: Prediction and Retrospection

Installation view at Château La Coste, Aix en Provence, France, 2024

Ding Yi: Cross Galaxy

Ding Yi
Ding Yi: Cross Galaxy

Installation view at Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning (MoCAUP), Shenzhen, 2023

Ding Yi: Flowing Infinity

Ding Yi
Ding Yi: Flowing Infinity

Installation view at TAG Art Museum, Qingdao, 2022

Multi-Verse: Ding Yi in Tibet

Ding Yi
Multi-Verse: Ding Yi in Tibet

Installation view at Jebum-gang Art Center & Shide Space, Lhasa, 2022

+ × 30 Years: Ding Yi's Works

Ding Yi
+ × 30 Years: Ding Yi's Works

Installation view at Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, 2018

Ding Yi: What's Left to Appear

Ding Yi
Ding Yi: What's Left to Appear

Installation view at Long Museum (West Bund), Shanghai, 2015

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Museum Exhibitions

Exhibitions

  1. Ding Yi: The Road to Heaven

    Ding Yi: The Road to Heaven

    26 September – 1 November 2025

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