Born in 1969 in Shenyang China, Wang Xingwei is one of the representatives of Chinese paintings after the mid 1990s. His realistic pictorial language adds a new dimension to his paintings after 1994 both in connotation and denotation. The year of 2008 marked the transition in his art, from intervention in the system of signification by means of examination and integration of the pictorial languages as media, to more emphasis on the inherent structure of the pictorial languages and their form, thus highlighting the homogeneity between fundamental factors in a visual reproduction, like form, space, mass, properties rhythm, order, class, etc., and the psychological structure, unconsciousness and instinct on the part of the painter and the viewers.

As reliable record of the artist's original idea, as well as a vital stage in the fulfullment of an artwork, a sketch often embodies the keenest and most accurate sense of art, and is sometimes even more vigorous than the final art work, therefore regarded as the formal vehicle of artistic inspirations for an open and liberal artist. More than one hundred in total sketches presented at this exhibition, make up a selection from a large number of sketches that Wang Xingwei has accumulated over the past 20 years. This exhibition, jointly organized by Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne and 01100001 Gallery, opening simultaneously with "Wang Xingwei", a large-scale retrospective exhibition at Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing, will surely offer an unique opportunity to gain a clear and profound understanding as well as a genuine admiration of the artist's art works.

Image: © Wang Xingwei, 01100001 Gallery