Guanyu Xu

Congratulations to Guanyu Xu and Sheida Soleimani for receiving 2026 Guggenheim Fellowships, awarded to individuals with exceptional creative ability in the arts. Awarded annually since 1935, the John Simon Guggenheim awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated distinguished accomplishment in the past and the potential for future achievement.

Guanyu Xu is an artist currently based in Chicago and Beijing. Deftly combining social practice, new media, installation and photography, Xu’s work has been defined by its expansive, multi-disciplinary approach to image-making. Influenced by his upbringing in Beijing and American visual culture, Xu’s practice is rooted in an examination of how power functions in and across images, specifically with regards to the relationship between personal freedom and political regimes. Xu’s work draws on his experience as a queer man while being raised in China before immigrating to the US, with much of his work referencing this displaced and fractured identity.