Metamorphosis | Xinyan Wang’s First North America Solo Exhibition
Original Published Link: 蜕变｜王鑫焱首次北美个展在NICODIM开幕
Nicodim Gallery Link: Xinyan Wang: Metamorphosis
From November 4 to December 22, 2023, artist Xinyan Wang’s first North American solo exhibition “Metamorphosis” will be held at Nicodim Gallery. Wang’s contemporary art creation inherits humanity’s primal impulse for artistic creation, aiming to mobilize the whole body with rich emotions to achieve a strongly painterly artistic expression. This is the artist’s second solo exhibition this year, following her Beijing solo exhibition “Mau Grotto” at Hive Art.
Xinyan Wang, born in Beijing in 1995, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2017 and obtained her Master’s degrees from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2020 and 2022, respectively. She currently lives and works in Beijing. In recent years, Wang has shown an interest in and focus on prehistoric civilizations in her artistic practice. Using silhouetted objects, rough brushstrokes, and a black-brown color palette, Wang finds a suitable vessel for visualizing her subconscious through the retrospection of rock carvings and the totems, symbols, and rituals they depict. By integrating fragments of daily inspiration, she completes a pursuit of personal emotional release and painterly expression. Notably, the “primitive” or “primitivism” evident in her work is not the core of her artistic pursuit but rather a “black mirror” reflecting externally imposed standards of judgment. This subtly implies her resistance to conventional aesthetic standards and her pursuit of the basic principles and value significance of purity.
Wang Xinyan: Metamorphosis
2023.11.4 – 2023.12.22
November 4 – December 22, 2023
Los Angeles Upstairs
Nicodim Upstairs, Los Angeles1700 S Santa Fe Ave #451Los Angeles
As the artist’s first solo exhibition in North America, Xinyan Wang’s “Metamorphosis” is exhibited at Nicodim Gallery’s headquarters in Los Angeles. The exhibited works skillfully blend an Eastern line-based style with Western modernist intentions and abstract concepts. In Wang’s works, one can see traces of historical masterpieces, including the murals of Dunhuang and the bison of the Altamira caves. The essence of ancient art is highlighted through Wang’s meticulous use of mineral pigments, resonating with the primal energy of nature. Her innate sense of color perception and application adds rhythm to her works.
Inspired by Gilles Deleuze’s “The Logic of Sensation,” Wang’s creation begins with seemingly chaotic sketches, similar to the book’s exploration and description of sketches preceding the act of painting. Over time, these sketches undergo multiple reviews and reorganizations before being presented on the canvas. The frequent appearance of cats in her works imparts an elegant and dynamic charm, becoming a symbol of her deep emotional connection with the multifaceted world. Wang’s works symbolize the true liberation of inner artistic perception, with each piece reflecting her relentless pursuit of transcendence—a metaphorical metamorphosis nurtured by over a decade of artistic exploration.
Human creation, at its inception, occurs within the realm of the mind, following the abundance of the spirit, where the hand moves in tune with the heart, leaving behind images infused with a primal sense of power. Artist Wang Xinyan has her debut exhibition in North America, “Metamorphosis,” held with Nicodim Gallery. Her contemporary art creations inherit the primal impulse of humanity toward artistic creation, striving to evoke her entire being with abundant emotions during the creative process, ultimately achieving art with strong paintability.
Wang embarked on her artistic journey at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, one of the most prestigious art institutes in China, during her high school years. Eleven years of rigorous academic art training have bestowed upon her a solid foundation in form and color, equipping her with the skill to realize various painting styles on canvas. Daily life drawing exercises have not only strengthened her muscle memory for painting but have also prompted her to continually contemplate what constitutes true artistic creation. All of this culminated when she decided to study abroad at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she gradually found the answers.
While in the United States, Wang had the opportunity to gain a closer understanding of Western art. When she reencountered ancient creations such as the late Upper Paleolithic cave paintings of Lascaux and the Pompeian frescoes from ancient Rome, she found herself irresistibly drawn to the profound sense of power embedded within them. She reflected on the Dunhuang cave murals she had seen in China and all the artworks that had previously resonated with her. It was at this point that she realized it wasn’t any specific artistic style that captivated her. Her affection for Dunhuang murals and her appreciation for Pompeian frescoes were never in conflict. What drew her in was the shared and profound devotion that exists deep within the human soul, present in these artworks.
From that moment on, Wang made the decision to cast aside her rigid attachment to the formal techniques she had acquired during her academic training. She resolved to paint with a candid approach, relying solely on her intuition and the muscle memory cultivated in her body by years of artistic creation. She paints only when she can reach a state akin to the ‘flow state,’ wherein she enters a realm that allows her to completely loosen her body. Guided solely by sensation, she unleashes the fullest of emotions onto her massive canvases.
Therefore, the paintings presented in the “Metamorphosis” by Wang possess both the grace of Eastern line-based stylization and contemplations of Western modernist notions of imagery and abstraction. Viewers can discern the echoes of the Dunhuang mural “Flying Apsara” in her work “Wildcat Hall” (2023), as well as resonances with the bison from the Altamira Cave mural in her “Comet Keeper” (2021). Much like these ancient murals, Wang’s creations predominantly feature natural hues, such as earthy yellows and reds – mineral colors that help her better connect with the primal power of nature. Her exceptional color perception, expressed through the harmonious blending and pairing of colors, adds further rhythm to her paintings.
However, Wang’s paintings do not merely bear resemblance to these historically significant artworks. Instead, she selectively extracts elements that align with her unique creative vision, intricately weaving them into the appropriate visual rhythms. Informed by her perception of the world, she meticulously integrates these elements into the foundation of her line-based sketches to craft comprehensive narrative compositions. The entire journey is imbued with a captivating sense of uncertainty.
In Gilles Deleuze’s “The Logic of Sensation,” he explores sketches and other forms that precede the act of painting. He suggests that the lines drawn by the artist’s hand are irrational, non-representational, and non-narrative. These lines lack inherent meaning and do not signify anything specific. It is these handcrafted lines that signify the intrusion of another world into the realm of visual art, marking a pivotal moment in painting. Similarly, Wang’s works all originate from what may seem like chaotic sketches. Through the passage of time, she continuously examines these lines, reorganizes them, and places them onto the canvas. The recurring presence of cats in her artwork harmoniously complements the structure of her compositions. Each cat gracefully and dynamically graces her canvases, acting as a microcosm of her profound emotional connection to the multifaceted aspects of the world.
“Metamorphosis” signifies a change in external form, structure, and substance. It symbolizes that despite the myriad of art styles and movements that have emerged throughout history, the art that endures and resonates widely all share the common core—sincerity in artistic creation, and desire to achieve the “transcendence” within the essence of art. Inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch (Overman), Gilles Deleuze describes the “transcendental” quality in art as a genuine liberation of the artist’s inner perception and freedom in judgment. In the exhibition “Metamorphosis,” each artwork by Wang Xinyan transcends conventional concepts and norms. She harnesses her sensory perception in the creative process, signifying her relentless pursuit of transcendence, and simultaneously, heralding a metamorphosis that has been achieved through more than a decade of her artistic exploration.