yuan gong (, born 1961 in shanghai), is a chinese contemporary artist. he has obtained a phd degree in theory of art at the chinese national academy of arts in 2012, but has immersed himself in different aspects of chinese contemporary art since the 1990s. being both creator and researcher, designer and planner, yuan is a multiple facets artist playing at the interface of conceptual art, performance and fine arts. using a large variety of media, his artworks address many philosophical questions, reflecting his concerns about the chinese society and impugning the art system, the exhibition format and the status of the artwork.