Liu Xiaodong – Half Street

Posted by Fabio 2 October 2013

First UK exhibition by renowned Chinese artist Liu Xiaodong. For six weeks last summer, Liu immersed himself in a community close to the Lisson Gallery, documenting his encounters with others, much as he has done on previous projects while living and painting among residents of Tibet, Japan, Italy, Cuba and Israel. As part of his direct and conceptual approach, Liu writes and draws in a journal and takes photographs before building a temporary studio on location, in order to paint en plein air or ‘xiesheng’ as it is known in Chinese.

A sense of proximity to his subject matter is vital to Liu, who states that, ‘My only goal is to confront people and see them as they really are.’ The artist’s immersive method of individual and collective portraiture results in pieces that have participatory and performative dimensions, while their scale often matches that of filmmaking, an activity Liu is well versed in, having previously worked as an actor in Wang Xiaoshuai’s acclaimed The Days, or else as producer and subject of award-winning documentaries about his own practice. Liu’s London project will be documented by filmmaker Sophie Fiennes, who has also filmed the German artist Anselm Kiefer at work as well as a profile of Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek.

Liu Xiaodong
Half Street
Lisson Gallery
Sep 27 – Nov 2, 2013