Material · Culture · Ecology
“Materials as cultural memory, ecological
relations, and contemporary knowledge.”
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Material · Culture · Ecology
“Materials as cultural memory, ecological
relations, and contemporary knowledge.”
About
Archive
Felt Database
CW coming soon
Material Playground
Research-Based Art&Design Studio
Yihan Zhang
Artist & Designer
Material Researcher
Yihan Zhang is a Chinese artist, material researcher, and founder of Studio Glance Han.
Her interdisciplinary practice brings together contemporary art, design research, and vernacular craft traditions. Through long-term fieldwork in pastoral regions, rural communities, and traditional craft networks across China, she investigates how materials are shaped by ecological systems, local knowledge, and social structures.
Her work spans installations, fibre art, publications, material archives, participatory workshops, and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Working closely with craftspeople, cooperatives, cultural institutions, and regional industries, she explores how material knowledge can be translated into contemporary artistic practice.
She holds dual Master’s degrees in Industrial Design and Crafts & Luxury Design from SPD (Scuola Politecnica di Design, Milan) and ECAL (École cantonale d’art de Lausanne). She previously worked in the European furniture design industry and later co-developed the sustainable material based fashion brand HowBottle in Shanghai. From 2020 to 2025, Yihan served as a Senior Material Researcher at PINWU & Róng Design Library, China’s first design and research platform grounded in craft-based methodologies. During this period, she led and participated in a range of projects including traditional craft material research, experimental material installations, and contemporary material explorations.
In 2025, driven by a long-term commitment to place-based material research and cross-cultural investigation, Zhang founded her independent practice, Studio Glance Han. Her research-led artistic practice focuses on local material ecologies, and the ethical and cultural dimensions of making. The collaborative project Herding Wool, co-initiated with Swiss designers Alix Arto and Emma Casella, centered on indigenous sheep breeds and wool diversity in both China and Switzerland, was awarded the Swiss Design Award 2025.
She is currently developing a long-term body of research and artistic practice centred on fibre as a relational material.
Swiss Design Award
2025
Nomination
Lexus Design Award
2015
Bronze Winner
Thermaltake Design Award
2014
Milan Design Week
Milan, Italy
2025
Swiss Design Award / Art Basel
Basel, Switzerland
2025
I Never Read Basel Art Book Fair
Basel, Switzerland
2025
Zurich Design Week
Zurich, Switzerland
2025
FREITAG Store
Shanghai, China
2024
Rong Design Library
Hangzhou, China
2024
Post-Ceramic | Art works
AreaWorks Gallery
Shanghai, China
2017
Houniao, Liuniao | Art works
Group exhibitions /China Academy of Arts' Folk Art Museum
Hangzhou, China
2025
Group exhibitions /Three Gorges Museum
Chongqing, China
2025
Group exhibitions / Jiaojie Gallery
Hangzhou, China
2023
Milan Design Week
2025
AWE (Appliance & Electronics World Expo)
2025
Design Shanghai
2025/2024
Milan Design Week
2024
Guangzhou Design Week
2022 /2021
(upcoming)
COVER
Magazine
2026
Hochparterre
Magazine
2026
Wohnrevue
Magazine
2025
COTE-China
Online Magazine
2025
Pro Helvetia
Website Interview
2025
Swiss Design Award
Offical Website
2025
Last Updated 24.10.37