2026 Tomayko Solo Artist Elevation Series
Peregrination, a long and meandering journey…
This exhibition features work by Toronto based artist, Xiaojing Yan. Through the lens of personal migration and cultural hybridity, Yan explores the evolving relationship between identity, tradition, and the natural world. Yan’s art reflects a journey of transformation – an intricate weaving of folklore, ritual, and nature into a symbolic and dreamlike representation of lived experience.
Drawing from ancient Chinese myths and customs, Yan reinterprets traditional narrative through a contemporary lens, reflecting on the fluidity of cultural memory. Her practice is both a tribute and a reimagining, examining how heritage can be at once rooted and reshaped – especially through her choices of materials and processes. Natural motifs, often deeply embedded in Chinese folklore, emerge in her work as metaphors for movement, adaptation, and belonging. Mountains, rivers, and celestial elements echo the rhythms of migration, symbolizing the passage between worlds – both physical and spiritual.
Through meticulous craftsmanship and layered symbolism, her work becomes a meditation space – where the past converses with the present. Laden with symbolism, her creations remain as resonant today as they were historically, also engaging with contemporary concerns. In this act of peregrination, Yan constructs a landscape uniquely her own, evoking poetic and philosophical reflections on humanity’s connection to the natural world.
This exhibition is part of Handwork 2026.
Pictured:
In The Shells, 2019 – 2025
Paper, reed, UV coating
variable sizes
This exhibition is made possible by the Tomayko Foundation and the Lydon Innovation Fund.
General operating support for Contemporary Craft is provided by Allegheny Regional Asset District, The Heinz Endowments, Windgate Foundation, Cathy Raphael, Opportunity Fund, Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Elizabeth R. Raphael Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, David Zeve, Anonymous foundation, The George G Fund, Giant Eagle Foundation, and by private donations.
