Tongyun Yin

Tongyun Yin joined the Harn’s curatorial team as Cofrin Curator of Asian Art on March 1, 2021. In this role, she directs the growth and development of the Harn’s Asian art collection of more than 3,560 works from China, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Tibet, Vietnam, India, Thailand and Indonesia. The collection includes objects in various mediums including ceramics, jades and metal works, stone sculptures, paintings and prints. The variety and quality of the works provide the opportunity for Yin to explore regional and transnational trends in Asian art, ranging from ceramic traditions to the spread of Buddhism, to the relationships between Asia and the West through artistic visions and creations.

Yin has more than 10 years of experience in the field of Asian art. Prior to joining the Harn Museum, she served as Curator of Asian Art at the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in Oak Brook, Illinois (June 2019 – February 2021) where she was responsible for re-installing permanent collection exhibitions, curating temporary exhibitions such as Re-carving the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes and Jades (2019-2020), producing publications and coordinating educational programs. In her role as Associate Curator of Asian Art at the MacLean Collection Asian Art Museum in Mettawa, Illinois (June 2014 – May 2019), she oversaw the research, interpretation, preservation and growth of the collection and completed two research catalogues including “Early to Medieval Chinese Pottery” (forthcoming) and “Highlights of Asian Art” (eBook, 2015). A few examples of her four exhibitions curated for the MacLean include Passion for Form: Southeast Asian Art from the MacLean Collection (2019) and Fire and Earth: Early Chinese Pottery (forthcoming). Yin is also a seasoned educator, having served as Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China from 2003 to 2009.

Yin specializes in the history, theory and criticism of modern and contemporary Chinese art and the institutionalization of Chinese art and cultural heritage. She holds a Ph.D. from University of California San Diego, a Master of Arts degree in Museum Studies from The George Washington University and Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Renmin University of China, in Beijing.