I am fascinated by the deceptive facades of politicians, the interaction between them, and sometimes an air of conspiracy in the almost theatrical space of political institutions.           

                                                                                                          —Xie Xiaoze

 Morono Kiang Gallery is proud to present Quotidian Truths: Paintings by Xie Xiaoze, a new exhibition of paintings that recount life as mediated through the news.  This exhibition is Xie Xiaoze’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles and MKG’s final installment of the Quotidian Truths series comprising three consecutive solo shows.

Xie Xiaoze’s art practice has long been concerned with knowledge—its origins, transmissions, and permutations.  Since the late 1990s, he started to paint images from newspapers, mesmerized by the way in which violence and corruption could achieve a kind of commonplaceness when delivered to your door on a daily basis.  In this series, Xie captures key political figures in the course of diplomatic actions.

Depicted in a simple monochromatic palette of black-on-white, these statesmen are rendered, or better yet, exposed, at decisive political moments that would shape China’s modern history.  In this way, Xie’s paintings of ink and oil are more than a simple reiteration of the facts, just as much as they bear little resemblance to traditional Chinese ink and brush painting.  His images effectively unveil what the newspaper photographs cannot show.  The painterly execution, reduced palette and the stark contrast it creates are what define Xie’s portrayal of this politicized world where no one is idealized, and no one is spared.

In his search for truth, the artist pushes past the hope of locating a diplomacy trained on the pursuit of integrity.  Instead his work strives to unearth the latent meanings and haunting implications of these historically loaded moments.  Xie’s subjects operate amidst tense political exchanges in historic halls of justice and legislation, where the whims and bravado of the powerful are played out and dire ramifications for the people become unrelenting quotidian truths.