Yin Zhaoyang (Chinese, b. 1970) is a painter and sculptor born in Nanyang, in China's Henan province. He graduated from the printing department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China, in 1996. Yin's work references Mao Zedong's life in a way that is interpreted as nostalgic, although he intentionally misrepresents history, even to the point of replacing Mao's face with his own at times. In addition to paintings depicting Mao at various stages in his life, Yin’s other paintings include Tiananmen Square 2003 and others in that series, Youth is Far Gone, a part of his Cruel Youth project, and a series of thirteen paintings he created based on his visit to Taipei. His Island of Four Seasons series depicts nude figures and his interpretation of humanity and history.

His solo exhibitions include Myth, held at the Beijing Art Museum in 2001, Utopia, held at the Beijing Central Art Museum in 2004, Public Space, held at the Max Protetch Gallery in New York in 2005, Passing by Mao Zedong, held at the DF2 Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, in 2007, The Twilight of a Man, held at ARCO in Madrid, Spain, in 2007, Pilgrim, held at the Silom Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2011, and Months, held at the Aura Gallery in Beijing, China, in 2011. He held many other solo exhibitions at the Aura Gallery in Beijing, China, in 2010 and 2011.

The artist has also participated in many group exhibitions, including ones at the Beijing International Art Museum in Beijing, China, in 1999, at the Shanghai DDM Warehouse and Beijing Yan Huang Art Museum in Beijing, China, in 2002, at the Shenzhen Art Museum in Shenzhen, China, in 2003, at the Beijing Commune in Beijing, China, in 2005, at the Nanjing Museum in Nanjing, China, in 2005, at The Metropolitan of Manila in Manila, Philippines, in 2006, at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia, in 2007, and in a traveling exhibition titled The Power of Personality. He currently lives and works in Beijing, China.