FEAST Projects announce that Xie Lei’s debut show in Asia is extended through January 19th. The critical response to the exhibition has been overwhelmingly positive, including Xie Lei’s being featured as “Artist to Watch” in the Art Economist. Don’t miss the opportunity to view these works and join the artist in his oneiric journey.
Xie Lei Big Fire, 2011, oil on canvas, 14×11 in. / 35×27.5 cm, FEAST Projects
Xie Lei, a fresh, young painter living and working in Paris, is a representative of the “New Generation” of contemporary Chinese artists who believe in the “eternal value of Art,” in contrast to work they judge to be inspired by market demands. As such, their creative process starts in their minds and in their studios, ignoring the trends of the outside market.
Xie Lei states that “painting is an adventure and I live it as such,” and in his most recent work he invites us to join him in his oneiric journey. His paintings are the visions of an awakened dreamer. Affected by the contemporary world, aware of its driving forces, and the mediatic distribution of those images, Xie Lei captures instances of paradoxical beauty, such as a menacing wall of fire (Big Fire), or an ominously immense wave (Big Wave). He takes great pleasure in the act of painting, using liquid oil colors that he mixes himself from pigments, binder and solvent. This complete control over his medium complements his fluent painting style, allowing his subjects to emerge on the canvas through expert applications of successively and lightly layered brush strokes.
His innate fascination with nature has given birth to works such as Fading and Bird, while his sense of fleeting time and the fragility of beings, which inspire both Dreamy and Daydream, evokes a phrase from Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones: “For a long time we crawl on this earth like caterpillars, waiting for the splendid, diaphanous butterfly we bear within ourselves.”
“By entering into Xie Lei’s dreamlike journey, we volunteer to lose our bearings, our sense of existence is transported, and we shed our skins of knowledge; all that remains is looking and seeking, which leads to rediscovering and understanding what is beauty, and what is beautiful painting,” exclaims Philippe Koutouzis, Director of FEAST Projects.
About FEAST Projects:
Founded by Philippe Koutouzis in 2010, FEAST Projects produces innovative projects through collaboration with both established and emerging contemporary artists. Represented are works in classical mediums, as well as works involving the new convergence of art, music, performance, film and design. Global in outlook FEAST Projects represents artists from around the world, including Ron Arad, Chu Teh-Chun, Feng Shuo, René Iché, Liu Wei, Marlène Mocquet, Carr Patterson, T’ang Haywen, Tie Ying, Xie Lei and Zao Wou-Ki amongst others.
The innovative 2,500 sq ft gallery space is located in Unit 307, 3/F, Harbour Industrial Centre, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong. – www.feastprojects.com
