Chongqing-born, Beijing-based Xie Nanxing has devoted decades to examining the manifold possibilities of painting. His early photorealist self-portraits and depictions of young nude men in torment garnered attention at the main exhibition of the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999, just three years after his graduation from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. In the early 2000s, Xie turned to abstracted forms of quotidian imagery such as flames on stoves or light cast on a wall. This rendering of ordinary motifs into out-of-focus, ambiguous entities is exemplified by his paintings of nocturnal gardens, shown at Documenta 12 (2007) in Kassel. In the late 2000s, the artist began to experiment with layered canvases, allowing paint to seep through from top to bottom and capturing traces of the painting process on the base canvas, which he exhibits. Xie’s singular visual language and methodology is an attempt to reinvent the medium and continually reconceptualize his role as a contemporary painter. On the occasion of his solo exhibition “A Roll of the Dice” at Beijing’s Galerie Urs Meile, Lauren Long spoke with Xie about his recent works, the importance of waiting, and his continued efforts in exploring his chosen medium.
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