Xinyan Wang

Born in Beijing in 1995, Wang Xinyan graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts with an undergraduate degree in 2017, and receivedherMFAfromCentralAcademyofFineArtsandtheSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2020 and 2022, respectively. She currently lives and works in Beijing. Her interest and focus on prehistoric civilisation is evident in her recent practice, where silhouetted objects, rough brushstrokes and dark brown tones envelop the canvas. Drawing on petroglyphs and the underlying totems, symbols and rituals, Wang discovers a suitable vessel for the visualisation of her subconscious, integrating the fragments of her everyday inspirations to achieve a cathartic and pictorial exploration of her emotions. In particular, the ‘primitive’ or the ‘primitivist’ interest revealed in Wang’s work is not the objective of her practice, but rather a ‘black mirror’ that imposes a criterion of judgement on external perceptions, signifying her rejection of the inherent aesthetic standards and the pursuit of the basic laws of simplicity and value.

1995 Born in Beijing

2013 BFA, China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (Painting and Printmaking)

2016 BFA, Zurich University of the Arts, Swiss (Performance and Sound)

2020 MFA, China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (Contemporary Painting)

2022 MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL (Painting and Drawing)

Currently lives and works in Beijing.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023 The green sheaf, Triumph Gallery, Beijing, China

2022 Shanghai 021, Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China

Exit Counseling, Green Gallery, Milwaukee, USA

SAIC MFA SHOW, 33 E. Washington SAIC Gallery, Chicago, USA

2021 Overlook on the Asthenosphere, 33 E. Washington SAIC Gallery, Chicago, USA

NEW WORKS, 33 E. Washington SAIC Gallery, Chicago, USA

Luo Zhongli Scholarship Award Exhibition, Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing, China

2020 Graduate Exhibition of Central Academy of Fine Arts, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China

Art Beijing, Cross Art Space, Beijing, China

2019 Wall – As the Boundary of Modernist Painting, Phoenix Weishi International Art Center, Fujian, China

Later Generation, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China

798 Gallery Week – Everything Grows, 798 Art Factory, Beijing, China

Just Because – Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Ushuaia, Argentina

2018    Funny Way – FUN Grassland, Parkview Gallery, Beijing, China

Zhi made – China contemporary art South America circuit exhibition, Bridge Gallery, Beijing, China

2017 Zhi Xuan – China contemporary art South America circuit exhibition, Chile   National Art Museum / Peru Inca-Garcia Cultural Center, Chile / Peru

2016   Color Symbiosis: Chinese Contemporary Artists Exchange Exhibition, Panama Museum of Contemporary Art, Panama City, Panama

Color Symbiosis: Chinese Contemporary Artists Exchange Exhibition，Goth San Jose National Gallery, San Jose, USA