Seattle-based designer Yitong Du has recently garnered international acclaim for his work in the visual arts. In March 2025, Du’s digital artwork “South Loop In the Rain” was featured in UPWARD Gallery’s juried exhibition “Chaos,” where it received 2nd Place recognition. The piece stood out among global submissions for its innovative blend of photography and digital painting, offering a striking interpretation of urban chaos. The recognition comes alongside Du’s inclusion in the April 2025 “Human Nature” online exhibition by Colors of Humanity Art Gallery, where two of his works – “Young Lady Caught In Fantasy” and “Yelling” – were accepted for display among an international selection of artists.
International Acclaim at UPWARD Gallery’s “Chaos” Exhibition
“South Loop In the Rain” by Yitong Du was included in “Chaos”, an international juried exhibition hosted by UPWARD Gallery. The “Chaos” show invited artists worldwide to submit works interpreting disorder and complexity through any medium, resulting in a diverse showcase of global talent. Du’s selected piece merges cityscape photography with digital art, depicting a rainy metropolis to explore the interplay of emotion and structure within urban chaos. Skyscrapers of a city’s South Loop district appear to melt into reflective streams of rainwater, an effect that conveys both the architectural order of the skyline and the fluid unpredictability of a storm. This evocative scene – at once realistic and abstract – resonated with jurors for how it captures the mood of a bustling city in downpour, turning a familiar urban panorama into a metaphor for chaotic energy and resilience.
The significance of Du’s participation in UPWARD Gallery is underscored by the exhibition’s international scope and competitive field. “Chaos” is a juried online exhibition that welcomes professional artists from around the world, across all styles and genres. By receiving second place, “South Loop In the Rain” earned a top honor in a show that featured work from numerous countries and multiple art forms. UPWARD Gallery noted that winners of juried exhibitions like “Chaos” are showcased in the gallery’s curated collections and interviewed for its quarterly publication, marking Du’s rising profile in the contemporary art scene.
Exploring Humanity in the “Human Nature” Exhibition
In April 2025, Yitong Du’s artistic exploration continued on the global stage through the “Human Nature” exhibition hosted by the Colors of Humanity Art Gallery. This juried online show – which focuses on figurative art and the essence of human emotion and behavior – featured 63 works from artists across 20 countries, reflecting a truly international perspective. The theme of “Human Nature” centers on the human figure, portraiture, and innate human characteristics such as thoughts and emotions. Du’s two selected pieces, “Young Lady Caught In Fantasy” and “Yelling,” exemplify the theme by delving into personal expression and the human psyche through digital media.
“Yelling” by Yitong Du, one of his works showcased in “Human Nature,” is a dynamic digital composition that conveys raw emotional intensity. The image presents a young woman’s face in mid-shout, her mouth open in a silent yell as fragmented streaks of color and texture cascade around her. Du created this piece by blending photographic elements with abstract digital collage, rendering the subject’s cry as a visual distortion in the surrounding space. The result is a portrait that viscerally captures frustration and release – a modern take on expressing the intangible aspects of human emotion. In contrast, “Young Lady Caught In Fantasy” (also exhibited in Human Nature) offers a more introspective mood, portraying a female figure absorbed in a dreamlike scene. Together, these works demonstrate the diversity of media represented in the show – from digital art and photography to painting and mixed media – and how Du’s approach to portraiture can stand alongside traditional techniques. By being selected for “Human Nature,” Du’s art was featured among an array of international artists and mediums, underlining the universal reach of his visual storytelling.
Bridging Visual Storytelling and AI Design
Yitong Du’s recent art accolades are all the more noteworthy given his cross-disciplinary background as an AI product designer. In his professional career, Du is known for integrating visual storytelling with user-centered design principles across different mediums – a philosophy that carries into his art. His background in product design, architecture, and AI-driven innovation informs a creative approach that seeks harmony between technology and human experience. This perspective has earned Du prestigious recognitions in the design world, including prestigious Red Dot Award, iF Design Award, and New York Product Design Award. These awards – one of which was won in a competition with over ten thousand international entries – highlight Du’s ability to innovate and excel in tech-focused design.
Du’s art practice and design work are deeply interconnected. The same talent for crafting intuitive, human-centric experiences in software is evident in the conceptual depth and clarity of his artwork. Whether he is developing an AI-powered interface or composing a digital painting, Du employs a balanced aesthetic that marries form with function, aiming to provoke reflection and emotional connection. This synergy is evident in pieces like “South Loop In the Rain,” where a keen architectural eye and digital technique turn a city scene into an engaging narrative, and in “Yelling,” where a user-experience mindset helps distill a complex emotional moment into a single striking image. By crossing the boundaries of art and design, Yitong Du exemplifies a new breed of creator who navigates multiple disciplines fluently. His recent successes in juried art exhibitions, combined with his design accolades, demonstrate how visual storytelling and user-centered design can reinforce each other.