Xiao Guo Hui
Xiao Guo Hui grew up in an old house with the rural atmosphere of a village, at the heart of an ancient Chinese city. The cheerful Guangzhou of Xiao’s memory has been completely replaced with a monolithic, monstrous carapace, the largest urban zone that the world has ever seen. In alienation, he found himself on the royal road to the experiences that have been the heritage of the West for several centuries; after an initial stay in Canada, eight years in Paris has given him an index of vivid images which populate his imagination.
From 2010, at which time they lived in Toronto, Xiao Guo Hui has worked together with his wife Chen Wenqing in a collaborative process. With a background in fashion, Chen helps to design the costumes and outfits worn by the human figures in the large, fresco-style paintings.
In Xiao's works, a simultaneous, existentially absurd hustle and bustle is viewed from above. He draws on an encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of painting to create his own distinctive visual world. Only indirectly do his paintings recall Chinese life; more often, they seem to be memories from years walking in European cities. Not only the experiences of today but the entire heritage of modernity, is visible in his paintings. They effortlessly blend the early Renaissance, Mannerism, Ukiyo-e painting and perhaps a little Francis Bacon. Throughout, he demonstrates infinite patience and attention to detail. Despite all the painterly seriousness, his works always have something playful about them. As he said himself, his greatest love is egg tempera. This seductively old technique brings luminosity and radiance to his reduced colour palette, giving his paintings a special temperament.
Xiao Guo Hui was born in 1969, GuangZhou, China. He lives and works in Paris, FR.
