New Figuration: Chapter 1 Showcases Diverse Emerging Artists in 2013 Exhibition

New Figuration: Chapter 1, an exhibition reviewed in May 2013, presents 20 works across varied media including watercolour, oil, acrylic, pencil on paper, canvas, and flattened cardboard boxes. The show features artists Chen Han, Zhang Shujian, Zhu Xinyu, Guo Hongwei, and Lu Chao, offering a consistent yet diverse display that aims to surpass typical emerging-artist presentations. Chen Han's oil on canvas piece Plotting Against a Sad Punishment (2012) depicts three young men facing a wall with bowed heads, enhanced by brown shadows, while his other works in flesh and ivory tones convey partial narratives like letters or embraces. Zhang Shujian's pencil drawings capture light on hair and skin in queer images, including Self Portrait – Back (2012) with a hood exposing a shaven head. Zhu Xinyu's paintings on cardboard achieve a new density with phosphorescent scenes of pine forests, children in boats, and kitchens. Guo Hongwei's watercolour insects are trapped within precise outlines, and Lu Chao's Suspension series (2012) uses white paper as a stage for antlers, trees, and rocks casting weightless shadows. The exhibition is noted for its evenness and intrigue, with works designed to linger in memory and imagination.