Date: Sep.22 - Oct.5, 1999
Venue: Keyi Gallery (2 - 5. Hu Nan Rd. Nanjing)

"Illusions-An Exhibition of Recent Works by Xu Lei," opened on September 22 at the Keyi Gallery in Nanjing. Xu Lei, who graduated from the Nanjing Art Institute and is currently a professional painter at the National Art Academy in Jiangsu province, has long had an influence on Chinese modern art. Since the beginning of the 1990s, he has opened up many new paths, and has followed a completely independent and individual practice. Another characteristic of Xu Lei is not only expressed in the way modern situations are manifested in the character of traditional art, but also in an apparent escape from social reality, thus revealing "nihilist" thoughts.

The 16 works on paper evoke some of the masterful confusion of hypnotic art. The piece "False Stones," which has been displayed at the exhibition "5000 Years of Chinese Art and Civilization" at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, also makes an appearance at the exhibition. It doesn't matter that Xu Lei's art draws from numerous and jumbled intelectual sources which do not merely relate to art history, but also to ideas stemming from theater, photography and even magic. These factors ultimately end up in the realm of his own private illusions. This sort of perfect expression of "starting from delight, ending in wisdom," is very seldom seen among today's Chinese artists. Therefore, the art of Xu Lei is an irreplaceable model representing the establishment of new territories for Chinese art.

Xu Lei
"City of the Butterfly"
1998
64 x 113.5 cm
color on paper