ART-PRESENTATION: Qiu Xiaofei-Pine or Willow

As one of the leading figures in the emerging Chinese art scene, Qiu Xiaofei focuses on depicting the intrinsic energy of the act of painting and its potential for performance. The theme of his work has evolved from experiments with images from personal and collective memories, into a study of cultural psychology and the unconsciousness of the society.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Pace Gallery Archive

In “Pine or Willow” his solo exhibition at Pace Gallery in Hong Kong, Qiu Xiaofei, presents his latest works on canvas and paper, as well as painting installations. The selection of works further explores into the contradictory thinking patterns observed in his older works. Through repeated depictions of the state of contraction, the works highlight the characteristic of suspending dynamics within the contraction itself. Many of Qiu’s paintings are based on photographs from his childhood. His current multi-disciplinary work combines drawings with sculptures and act as a chronological recorder of the artists’ history. As the artist explores various parts of his memory or “Thought diversions”, as he calls them, they allow him to delve deeper into his “Procedural, subconscious and personal experiences”. As Qiu Xiaofei explains, “The starting point was a thought I had, or my perception of shape–painting does not start from a surface; instead it starts with an object, as it forms a relation with the shape of an object. The biggest difference between painting and a representational drawing is that the idea behind painting is not painterly; it is about the origin of painting”. Qiu Xiaofei, who lives and works in Beijing, studied painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, receiving his degree in 2002 and is a member of the N12 group of Central Academy of Fine Arts graduates, who began staging shows together in 2003. Since 2009, Qiu Xiaofei has gradually shifted his ponders of memory into the exploration to consciousness and potential psychological activity. These approaches in art include forms, color structures, mediums and furthermore, a liberal transformation and selection of action and process, which do not limited to any of the elements.

Info: Pace Gallery, 15C Entertainment Building, 30 Queens Road Central, Hong Kong, Duration: 21/3-27/4/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-19:00, www.pacegallery.com