Xie Xiaoze's 'Endurance' exhibition at Chambers Fine Art explores decay and memory through enlarged book paintings

Xie Xiaoze's solo exhibition 'Endurance' was presented at Chambers Fine Art in New York City from April 6 to June 17, 2017. The show featured large-scale paintings based on photographs of books sourced from global libraries, including the Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library at Columbia University, Tribhuvan University Library in Nepal, and Tsinghua University in China. Xie's works depict decaying volumes, such as half-burned Chinese books rescued from Japanese attacks during World War II, rendered with soft brushwork that creates a dreamy, distant quality. The artist enlarges small books to body-length canvases, faithfully reproducing photographic elements like blurring and cropping to evoke a sense of panning rather than direct gaze. Colors play a key role, with heightened reds in leather covers suggesting flames and vivid greens and oranges contrasting against cool backgrounds, transmitted through Xie's slurry brushwork to induce a slightly nauseated feeling. While the paintings' blurring invites comparison to Gerhard Richter's photo-based works, which aim to equalize importance, Xie's subjects connect sensorially amidst decay, drawing viewers close to human fragility. The gallery handout revealed book contents, as closed covers and crumbling spines obscured texts, emphasizing reliance on visual cues over literal reading.