The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG) is collaborating with Chen Xi and ART HONG KONG MAGAZINE on the exhibition Chen Xi: So We Remember. The painter created this series of contemporary images to commemorate, to document and to provoke thought. The paintings illustrate important events that have shaped our modern world. In the current show, they present her preliminary pen and watercolour drawings along with the finished oil paintings. Meticulous in her research and true to both the documented incident and the domestic details, Chen Xi creates historical paintings for our present and future generations. Her method directly relates to contemporary life and to a society that is informed and influenced by modern-day media. Interestingly, the painter does not simply depict a historic event, but frames within a TV screen each episode of her sequential and international narrative. By presenting the paintings within the TV’s glass, they become screen shots linked to a specific moment in time and space, as well as to the living room setting where the news would have been seen. In addition, the exhibition includes four early paintings that relate to the TV series and Chen Xi’s development as an artist.

Chen Xi’s connection to her audience is as multifaceted as the international community viewing the paintings. Individuals are reminded of the broader implications and specific details of the political or social events being depicted. In concert with this, viewers are drawn in, sometimes uncomfortably close, to the domestic interior within the work. The artist’s dialogue recalls and re-presents a moving tribute to the events.

About the artist

Born in 1969, Chen Xi graduated from the Attaching Middle School of Sichuan Art Academy in 1987. She graduated from the 4th Atelier of the oil painting department in China Central Art Academy and got bachelor’s degree in 1991. In the same year, she took part in Great Wall International Painting Festival. Her first solo show was held China Central Art Academy Gallery in 1989 and her work BIGWIG WINE SHOP was selected into the 1st China Oil Painting Biennale and won the Science Award in 1993. She took part in Beijing International Art Center Art Museum—Female Oil Painting Exhibition in 1994. Two of her works took part in Germany Dusseldorf China Modern Art Exhibition; her work COPY BOARD was selected into the 3rd China Oil Painting Exhibition and won the Excellent Award in 1995.  She published works and articles on the column of Zoology Narration of Female and Art Contemporary Art Magazine in 1996. In October 1997, she held individual painting exhibition in Beijing International Art Center Art Museum and published individual painting volume. Her recent solo show was held at the National Art Museum of China in 2011. Her works were published on Jiangsu Picture Magazine, Guangdong Artist, China Oil Painting, Art Tide, World Art, China Art, Contemporary Art, Art Watch, etc. She has featured comments and individual articles. Her work was collected by overseas galleries.

About the exhibition

Date: 2 March to 3 April 2016

Venue: The University Museum and Art Gallery

Courtesy of the artist and the University Museum and Art Gallery.