Xie Molin’s fourth exhibition at Beijing Commune “Vertical Lines” opens on September 9th and will last until October 29th. This exhibition is presenting Xie Molin’s latest artistic exploration over the past three years. This is also an in-depth demonstration of the artist’s achievement in the field of “human-machine collaboration”, a specific trajectory of painting that he has deeply investigated for the past ten years. To entitle this exhibition “Vertical Lines” not simply highlights the basic infrastructure on which all his works base but reflects on the senses of solidity and stability shared among his paintings.
Specifically speaking, this show includes a variety of approaches that the artist has taken deriving from the basic form. For the “Color Lines” series, which is comprised of single-layer color, Xie responds to long-term established forms in art history with which he shares similarities, with his focus particularly drawn on materiality. In his “Suspending Blade” series, irregularly shaped saw blades must follow a vertical movement without touching the tabletop. In this sense, variable but logical rhythms, that lead to either dense or sparse layouts spread on double or three-layered color structures are represented.
When art is not simply about simulation, nor is it the metamorphosis of found images, for the artist, it is precisely the mechanical production, parallel to the natural means of production, that lies at the core of his methodology. Within it, forces, rules, materials, structures, variables, and artistic experiences are altogether undergoing subtle adjustment and synthesis. For Xie, his reciprocal relationship with his self-made machine forms his independent and self-sufficient path which he strives to establish and maintain. The specters are, therefore, invited to this fascinating realm to further explore exquisite variability via contemplation.
