Xu Lei (b. 1963) Memory of the Blank City ink and gouache on paper executed in 2005 65 x 88 cm (25 5/8 x 34 3/4 in) signed Xu Lei
LITERATURE P.28 - 29, Reflection series - Blank City Story, Author: Zhu Zhu, Hebei Education Press, 16 May 2001 P.123, Oriental Art - Master Bimonthly, Oriental Art Magazine Publisher, Today Art Museum, Beijing, Feb. 2006 Temperament and Civilization catalogue, Reshaping History - ChinArt 2000 - 2009, Sichuan Fine Arts Publishing House, China P. 28, National Gallery Magazine Edition IV, China Fine Art Institute, Beijing, 2007 P.80, Case Studies of Artists in Art History And Art Criticism, Author Zhu Zhu, Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, China 2008 P.66, Contemporary Art and Investment magazine, Zeichen im Wandel der Zeit: Chinesische Tuschemalerei der Gegenwart (Characters through the age: Chinese ink painting of the present) P. 42, US - China Cultural Exchange Project catalogue, Asian Division, Library of Congress, 2008 P. 274, The Road for Traditional Chinese Paintings in New Era catalogue , National Art Museum of China, Beijing , 2008 P. 74 Characters through the age: Chinese ink painting of the present catalogue, Berlin National Museum and Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Berlin Germany, 2008
EXHIBITION Berlin National Museum and Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Berlin Germany, 2008 The Road for Traditional Chinese Paintings in New Era, National Art Museum of China, Beijing 28, Nov. 5 Dec. 2008 Section: Temperament and Civilization, Reshaping History - ChinArt 2000 - 2009, China National Convention Center, Beijing, 4 - 21 May, 2010
Xu’s paintings are gentle and sophisticated, and often, a sense of lethargy pervades. Xu excels in creating metaphors in his works that appear noble yet depressive. He administers and arranges the composition of his work meticulously like a director does with the set-up of a stage. There is a sense of “design” to his work where the prints on the board, or the use of Japanese screens, or the extravagant details of Persian illustrations are conscientiously positioned within the canvas. He also appropriates images of Chinese gardening, traditional Chinese embroidery and classical Chinese painting techniques to flaunt the nature of his concept. − Chen Danqing, The fable of images - Paintings by Xu Lei