Xiaoze Xie has been painting pictures of Chinese and American newspapers for more than a decade. A native of Guangdong, Xie paints his interpretation of current events based on photographs he has taken of stacked newspapers in library archives. The images are often startling, yet truthful. He illustrates resounding realism and at the same time portrays the persistent accumulation of information forced upon us through the media.
In 1999, I met Xiaoze Xie in Texas while he was a Master of Fine Arts student at the University of North Texas. He is unassuming, quiet and shy. This is a stark contrast to the images he paints. Despite the brutal or political nature of some of his imagery, there is no blatant attempt to communicate a particular message. Xie prefers strong visual statements over propoganda.
His recent work is poignant and timely. Xie has captured images of the September 11, 2001 attack on New York and the continuing military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. "What interests me most is the temporary nature of this everyday object, loaded with the all-encompassing information of changing daily life," says Xie. "Newspapers are recycled. Life goes on. In some paintings, the abstract pattern on the side of a stack gives away no specific information. At times, the close-up view of the newspaper stack reveals fragmented news pictures and texts of seemingly unrelated events, from the quiet passage of the everyday, to the disturbing conflicts and tragedies of our time. The accidental juxtaposition of images and texts suggests, and at the same time conceals, a larger, more complex social picture."
A review of his
work shows newspapers tied with twine and tagged with the dates of the gathered editions. Most images are at close range or sometimes from the side. Xie's translation of these images is profound. He takes the world's biggest events and turns them into concise and specific stories.
Almost every painting carries a photograph of military belligerence or human agony. Yet, the horrific crisis of his paintings is softened by the volume of other illustrations and text.
Xiaoze Xie received his Master of Fine Art degrees from the Central Academy of Arts & Design in Beijing and the University of North Texas. Xie has had solo exhibitions in galleries and museums nationwide, notably at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Dallas Visual Art Center, and Charles Cowles Gallery, New York. His work has been acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and of course, by yours truly.
The Real Todd Harrison
http://cowlesgallery.com/archive/Xie.html
[1] http://www.davidsongalleries.com/artists/xiaoze/xiaoze.html
