Xie Lei

Xie Lei (China, 1983) is a painter who has lived and worked in Paris since 2006. He is a graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris. His work has been exhibited in numerous institutions: MO.CO, Montpellier; CAPC, Bordeaux; Villa Noailles, Hyères; Collection Lambert, Avignon; MAC VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine; Fondation Langen, Neuss; Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration, Paris; Fondation Yishu 8, Beijing; Fondation d’entreprise Ricard, Paris. His work can be found in public and private collections such as Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, MAC VAL, Burger Collection and X Museum.

 

During her residency at Villa Medici, Xie Lei will develop a new body of work that questions Italian society, both historically and in its current state, in terms of sex, gender and identity. The project will focus on the image, examining the signs and symbols that this society transmits, diverts or invents in relation to what is left in the shadows, tolerated, forbidden and transgressed. The ancient Romans did not make moral judgments about sexuality, and Italy is the last country in Western Europe to have passed a law authorizing civil unions for homosexual couples. With a new series of paintings, the artist will continue to question the content of images and, at the same time, representation.