From 23 to 30 October 2026, NextStreet Gallery presented DRILL ON, a solo exhibition by Chinese contemporary artist Huang Yulong, bringing together sculpture, urban culture and traditional craftsmanship in the heart of Paris.
A New Perspective on Urban Identity
Named after the raw energy and irregular rhythms of drill music, DRILL ON explored Huang Yulong’s evolving sculptural language and his distinctive approach to contemporary identity.
The artist is known for his faceless, hooded figures, and here he revisited them through unexpected transformations. Youthful silhouettes gave way to middle-aged men with rounded bellies, dragon tattoos and gilded bronze surfaces, introducing humour and ambiguity into symbols traditionally associated with status and prosperity.
Appearances became a recurring question. Beneath the polished surfaces and confident postures, Huang Yulong invited viewers to reconsider the relationship between material wealth, identity and the image we present to the world.
From Bronze to Porcelain
The exhibition brought together works that blurred the line between ordinary objects and precious materials.
Shipping cartons were recreated in cast bronze and finished with gold leaf. Their corrugated surfaces, worn edges and traces of transportation remained visible, turning disposable packaging into objects of permanence and value.
Porcelain opened another dimension of the artist’s practice. Drawing on traditional Chinese blue-and-white painting techniques, Huang Yulong placed his contemporary characters in dialogue with a centuries-old artistic tradition.
Industrial and handcrafted, everyday and precious, traditional and contemporary: these contrasts ran throughout the exhibition.
A Special Collaboration with Lladró Art Editions
The exhibition also featured Theodosia – Respect, a limited-edition porcelain sculpture created by Huang Yulong in collaboration with Lladró Art Editions.
Depicting two hooded figures in a moment of connection, the work combines white glazed porcelain with reflective silver lustre. Each piece is handcrafted in Valencia, Spain, through a process involving 18 porcelain elements and approximately 18 days of work.
Produced in an edition of 100, Theodosia – Respect brings together Huang Yulong’s urban visual language and Lladró’s long-standing expertise in porcelain craftsmanship.
DRILL ON in Paris
Presented at NextStreet Gallery on Place des Vosges, DRILL ON offered visitors the chance to experience Huang Yulong’s work beyond the image: the textures of cast bronze and gold leaf, the delicate surfaces of porcelain.
Through shifts in material, scale and context, familiar figures and everyday objects took on new meanings.
The exhibition closed on 30 October 2026, leaving a compelling portrait of an artistic practice that continues to move between cultures, materials and visual traditions.