Exhibition Review | Lingrou Xie: Between Layers

 

" The clearer and simpler the lie oh the surface,

the more elusive and complex the truth it conceals."

 

——  Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

 

For Lingrou Xie, the concept of "boundaries" is both emphasized and blurred. Observing the combination of rectangular forms of varying sizes and blurred backgrounds in her paintings—like a contrapuntal aria—one might be reminded of the character Sabina, an artist from Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" , and the layered mental paths suggested by her art.

 

 

 

Opening view of Beak and Coal, November 23, 2024 - December 23, 2024, Nan Ke Gallery, Shanghai ©  Courtesy Nan Ke Gallery  Photo by Tiger Chen

In Kundera’s analysis, Sabina’s method of painting is imbued with symbolic resonance. While the surface patterns appear complete, they interact with the underlying layers, revealing glimpses of hidden shapes or colors. This interplay alerts the viewer to the existence of something concealed beneath, creating an "unsaid" depth. The work becomes a partially open door, subtly but powerfully inviting the outside world to peer in.

 

 

 

 

Similarly, Xie’s use of overlapping structures recurs throughout her oeuvre. In her piece "Sea of Glass" , a mirror-like frame encases the “double exposure” of portraits and architectural memories, fixed between two glass goblets. This mirrors the delicate, fragile, and eternal still-life elements in the background. In works such as "The Vortex of Time" , "A Myriad of Stars" , and "Visible" , glass goblets repeatedly appear as realistic motifs, seemingly representing objects that evoke memory or anchors for the intangible spirit in the material world.

 

 

110h x 150w cm

© Courtesy of the artist

 

Perfect realism is transformed into memory-laden tablecloths, resembling the impeccably arranged trays of a server, offering the audience a feast of Lingrou Xie’s carefully composed yet seemingly ephemeral truths. Within these constrained squares, glimpses of different aspects and fragments of femininity emerge—moments from classic films, flames, or a fleeting, elusive gaze—all inviting interpretation and emotion: passionate or cold, oppressive or rebellious, reluctant compliance or compelled escape.

 

 

70h x 60w cm

© Courtesy of the artist

 

“But what is betrayal? Betrayal means breaking ranks, stepping out of line. Betrayal is abandoning one’s station to leap into the unknown. For Sabina, there was nothing more beautiful than heading for the unknown.” In Kundera’s narrative, Sabina’s creative desire stems from her relentless peeling back of layers to uncover life’s primal forces, even if the visible destination is the unreachable void. For Xie, however, her approach leans less toward "peeling away" and more toward "layering." Fleeting moments of memory and emotion are governed by enduring feminine themes across time and space. These fragments are valued, ordered, and intricately linked, with an intuitive spirituality weaving them into a tapestry of movement and stillness, lightness and gravity, spirit and flesh.

 

In terms of materials, the embryonic cloth with a glue base and the cloth with a plaster base end up with different tactile sensations if the proportions are different. Before painting, Xie would imagine what kind of texture would make sense for different images. The understanding of “memory” permeates her work, guiding her every action or behavior. Sometimes she uses thin paint to highlight the texture of yarn and water, while at other times she uses multiple overpainting and color lifting to make memories slowly emerge on the canvas. Through meticulous and repetitive “deletion” or “superimposition”, the information left behind in the depths of the mind, which has gradually lost its form, is touched, stroked, and resurrected on the canvas by a gentle hand.

 

 

70h x 60w cm

© Courtesy of the artist

 

From intimate family photographs to broader portrayals of women, the expansion of Xie’s artistic language resembles organic growth rather than escape. Within the confines of her initial frames, she establishes “smaller windows” that point toward the opposite of self-imposed limits, radiating outward into more expansive spiritual realms. The interplay between the scenes and figures within the squares and the symbolic still-life elements in the outer frame creates a metaphoric link between her works and the exhibition, space, specific themes, or the broader world. From these seeds of memory, an ever-unfolding journey begins.、

 

60h x 50w cm

© Courtesy of the artist

 

Delicate bouquets and objects entwine the faces of various Asian women, forming a nuanced and subtle classical aesthetic. Yet, beneath the shifting light and shadows, the emotions are far from singular docility. Instead, they are rich, sharp, and liberated. The existence of boundaries is acknowledged in an objective sense, yet they seem to be scorned and transcended on a subjective level. Like a force that blends gentleness and firmness, Xie’s work ignores the wind rustling through the woods, progressing patiently and freely, unhindered and serene.

 

Text by Roxane Fu