Fugitive Figuration traces the practice of Xie Nanxing from his iconic works of the 1990s to his most recent paintings from 2026. The exhibition acts both as an introduction and an appraisal of the exceptional position he holds in contemporary Chinese and international art. For the first time, nine paintings from six different series are brought into conversation with one another. Together, they incite dreams and analysis in equal measure, revealing the different morphologies of figuration that have emerged in his practice over the last thirty years.

Xie’s paintings are essentially filmic even if he deploys no time-based media. With their scenic quality, they incite the viewer to submerge themselves in a multilayered, visual narrative. This effect is particularly pronounced in Untitled, No. 6, from 2003, the last work in a seminal series in which he painted each member of his family, including himself, lying prostrate on the floor of his studio. Only, in three of these works, there is no one to be found. Sensory and panoramic in scale, Xie has painted the dissolution of figuration, its final escape. As with his paintings from 1994, and those of 1999 exhibited at the 48th Venice Biennale, we become witnesses to situations and dramas performed in the home in an atmosphere loaded with sinister potential. Xie’s figuration is hidden in plain sight, drawing the viewer into unexpected scenarios, at times tinted with supressed cruelty, but also romanticism and humour.

Veranstaltungsort

Galerie Urs Meile
Rämistrasse 33
CH-8001 Zürich

• Lageplan
• SBB

Veranstalter

Galerie Urs Meile

Wann?

12.06.2026-29.08.2026