Solo Exhibition: Unrest Assured
Xiao Wang
Dates: April 12 - May 11, 2019
Opening Reception: Friday, April 12 | 6-8 pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, May 11 | 5 pm, followed by a Closing Reception until 7 pm
" Uncertainty is the only thing I can be certain of. "
Glass Rice is proud to present Unrest Assured, a series of new paintings by Xiao Wang in his sophomore solo exhibition with the gallery. In this show, Wang digs deeper into his fascination with ‘the uncanny’ and the isolated pensive moments caught in between states of chaos his characters often find themselves in, while continuing to pay homage to film.
Visually and conceptually, symbolism is one of Wang’s major influences. By referencing symbolist painters from the 19th and 20th century, such as Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, and Max Klinger, Wang begins to construct his own visual language of symbols that evoke a particular state of mind, rather than a linear narrative. His use of distorted colors to render his dramatic landscapes and natural imageries are a means of elevating the viewer to a plane higher than the banal reality of nature itself, thrusting “reality” into overdrive. In this series, skies can be fuchsia pink, citrus yellow, or a gradient of bright green, yellow and blue. Slightly distorted psychedelic walls or a latticework of succulents, cacti, and tree branches set the stage for his characters, bringing in to question what the future holds for them in an alien yet familiar setting. His subjects are portrayed looking off into the distance, caught seconds before their reaction to some ‘thing’, or someone right outside of the canvas. Rather than communicating plain meaning with matter-of-fact descriptions of what he is depicting or revealing the entity his characters await, Wang constructs scenes that acknowledge and confront the chaotic nature of the world, offering a pensive look into uncertainty.
Wang’s intention with this work is to gradually build his own mythological world that is both fantastical, yet also mirrors our collective “reality”, by blurring the line between truth and fantasy, both deeply rooted in the world and apart from it. Although his work is at its core realism, Wang seeks out qualities of the supernatural or uncanniness, pushing the boundaries of his work towards the direction of magical realism. By mixing supernatural phenomena with mundane context, Wang frees the stories of his characters from the constraint of certain rules and laws, making it more direct, thus more emotionally, philosophically, and politically “real”. Ultimately, the isolated imageries that make up this series come together as a montage, revealing an inner logic that unites them, and our world with theirs.
Xiao Wang
Dates: April 12 - May 11, 2019
Opening Reception: Friday, April 12 | 6-8 pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, May 11 | 5 pm, followed by a Closing Reception until 7 pm
" Uncertainty is the only thing I can be certain of. "
Glass Rice is proud to present Unrest Assured, a series of new paintings by Xiao Wang in his sophomore solo exhibition with the gallery. In this show, Wang digs deeper into his fascination with ‘the uncanny’ and the isolated pensive moments caught in between states of chaos his characters often find themselves in, while continuing to pay homage to film.
Visually and conceptually, symbolism is one of Wang’s major influences. By referencing symbolist painters from the 19th and 20th century, such as Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, and Max Klinger, Wang begins to construct his own visual language of symbols that evoke a particular state of mind, rather than a linear narrative. His use of distorted colors to render his dramatic landscapes and natural imageries are a means of elevating the viewer to a plane higher than the banal reality of nature itself, thrusting “reality” into overdrive. In this series, skies can be fuchsia pink, citrus yellow, or a gradient of bright green, yellow and blue. Slightly distorted psychedelic walls or a latticework of succulents, cacti, and tree branches set the stage for his characters, bringing in to question what the future holds for them in an alien yet familiar setting. His subjects are portrayed looking off into the distance, caught seconds before their reaction to some ‘thing’, or someone right outside of the canvas. Rather than communicating plain meaning with matter-of-fact descriptions of what he is depicting or revealing the entity his characters await, Wang constructs scenes that acknowledge and confront the chaotic nature of the world, offering a pensive look into uncertainty.
Wang’s intention with this work is to gradually build his own mythological world that is both fantastical, yet also mirrors our collective “reality”, by blurring the line between truth and fantasy, both deeply rooted in the world and apart from it. Although his work is at its core realism, Wang seeks out qualities of the supernatural or uncanniness, pushing the boundaries of his work towards the direction of magical realism. By mixing supernatural phenomena with mundane context, Wang frees the stories of his characters from the constraint of certain rules and laws, making it more direct, thus more emotionally, philosophically, and politically “real”. Ultimately, the isolated imageries that make up this series come together as a montage, revealing an inner logic that unites them, and our world with theirs.