Xie Nanxing: f o r a d e c a s a

Capitain Petzel is pleased to announce f o r a d e c a s a, a solo exhibition of paintings by Xie Nanxing (b. 1970, Chongqing) opening as part of Gallery Weekend Berlin 2024.

f o r a d e c a s a is comprised of eight paintings which represent a complete body of work. The title, an abstraction of the Portuguese “fora de casa”, as in “jogo fora de casa” – the away game – reveals this series’ origins: while visiting Lisbon Xie came across a notebook, the vibrant green pages of which were each marked with the lines of a football pitch. Perhaps a fun gift for the child whose bedroom walls are adorned with posters of footballers, or possibly a serious tool for the tactician for whom each match is an obsession. The markings of the football pitch – rendered most clearly against a comparable green background in f o r a d e c a s a # 1 – became the basis for this group of paintings, both as a loosely interpreted formal structure for each new work and as a catalyst for their content.

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 TX;  Start Museum, Shanghai; Sammlung Goetz, Munich and By Art Matters, Hangzhou.

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