In her series "Mirage," Xinyan Yu conjures vibrant ecosystems of emotion, energy, and transformation.
Xinyan Yu creates luminous, nature-infused abstractions exploring transformation, emotion, and the blurred edge between the real and imagined.
These works dissolve the boundary between the real and the surreal, where imagined flora, liquid forms, and luminous environments pulse with life and metamorphosis. Working in oil and acrylic, Yu translates inner states into organic landscapes, inviting viewers to feel rather than interpret, to enter a suspended moment where resilience and fragility coexist.
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Mirage 1, Xinyan Yu, 2025, oil, 36 x 24 in. / 91.44 x 60.96 cm.
The first painting in the series unfolds in saturated reds and oranges, where floral blooms and abstract tendrils emerge from a fiery matrix. Amid the heat, cooler blue-greens thread through the composition, providing contrast and dimensional depth. The surface shimmers with translucent layers, evoking sensations of cellular growth or volcanic fertility. It is a terrain both sacred and volatile, where inner transformation burns brightly, refusing containment.
Mirage 2, Xinyan Yu, 2025, oil and acrylic, 36 x 24 in. / 91.44 x 60.96 cm.
In the second work, vertical movement takes center stage. Vines cascade from above like liquid threads, meeting undulating coral forms and deep violet silhouettes that resemble underwater creatures or microscopic life. The palette oscillates between warmth and phosphorescence, infusing the scene with dreamlike urgency. This painting feels like an ecosystem in motion, a place where sensation drips downward and energy rises from within.
Mirage 3, Xinyan Yu, 2025, oil on canvas, 48 x 36 in. / 121.92 x 91.44 cm.
The third piece in the series shifts toward cooler hues, creating a cavernous expanse lit by glowing filaments of white. These threadlike forms suggest neural pathways or fungal mycelium, connecting bursts of vibrant floral shapes that float in the underbrush. The composition is dense and immersive, a bioelectric forest charged with unseen communication. Here, Yu emphasizes interconnectedness, a networked resilience, whispering through color.
Together, the "Mirage" series maps the territory of becoming. Each canvas is a world where internal experience manifests through abstracted nature, where vulnerability and strength are not opposites but partners in growth. In Yu's hands, paint becomes a medium of transformation, a way to glimpse the unseen architectures of emotion, memory, and renewal.
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