Xie Nanxing
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Biography
Born in 1970 in Chongqing, China
Lives and works in Beijing and Chengdu, China
Within the Chinese modern art scene, Xie Nanxing has carved out a special place for himself. The artist has explored the infinite possibilities of painting over the course of his decades-long practice. From his photorealist self-portraits and male nudities that he displayed at the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999, just three years after graduating from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, to his out-of-focus renderings of nocturnal gardens, which he presented at documenta 12 in Kassel in 2007.
Recent and notable solo and group exhibitions include Sigg Prize at M+, Hong Kong (2023-2024); UCCA Edge, Beijing (2023); Beijing Bienniale (2022); Art Museum of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing (2021); Song Art Museum, Beijing (2020); Hive Center For Contemporary Art, Beijing (2020); Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart (2019); MAK Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Vienna (2019); Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2018); Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing (2016); Museum of Contemporary Art Chengdu (2016); Today Art Museum, Beijing (2016); Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum (2015); OCT Contemporary Art Terminal (OCAT), Shenzhen (2014); Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina (CCCS), Palazzo Strozzi, Florence (2010); Kunsthalle Basel (2002); documenta 12, Kassel (2007); Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof (2005); Manchester Art Gallery (2003) and La Biennale di Venezia, 48. Esposizione Internationale d’Arte, Venice (1999).
Nanxing’s work is included in renowned international contemporary art collections, among them M+Museum, Hong Kong; the Rachofsky Collection, Dallas; Start Museum, Shanghai; Sammlung Goetz, Munich and By Art Matters, Hangzhou.
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When I paint something new, the mark that has come from my hand or my mind demands that I study it, that I analyse and try to understand it. Then finally, perhaps, I can make use of it. This process brings me closer to my thoughts and putting all of this into my work helps to create more layers and more possibilities.
– Xie Nanxing
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Works
Xie Nanxing
f o r a d e c a s a, 2024Oil on canvasSigned and dated recto180 x 230 cm
70.9 x 90.5 inchesB-XNANXING-.24-0009The work, used as the key visual for the exhibition, also has a layer of canvas print. Traces of 4 or 5 figures are visible upon closer inspection, creating an...The work, used as the key visual for the exhibition, also has a layer of canvas print. Traces of 4 or 5 figures are visible upon closer inspection, creating an almost legible figural scene. The work is illustrative of the artist’s signature mark-making technique.
The football pitch takes on the appearance of a mattress stained with bodily fluids. The mattress can signify an amorous space as well as one of struggle. The presence of these marks is highlighted by flies that are fighting amongst themselves in two teams, thereby referencing the idea of football – a competitive game that reimposes itself on the narrative of the painting. The work is a scene of struggle and conflict.
Exhibitions
Xie Nanxing, f o r a d e c a s a, Capitain Petzel, Berlin, 20241of 18ExhibitionsExternal ExhibitionsPressPublicationsVideo