XIANG NAN

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Vast oceans, surreal flames, resilient gold diggers, and the untouchable wind—Xiang Nan’s paintings unfold into serene, silent compositions imbued with a profound sense of expansiveness. Present by Tang Contemporary Art Beijing, the exhibition Favoring Winds and the Promised Land offering a complete showcase of the artist’s creations spanning more than a decade, these works are never confined by a singular theme, yet they consistently explore a deeply resonant internal value. As the artist himself states, “My work carries a certain bitterness and the hardship of mediating between the external world and the painted surface.” Perhaps this reflects a long-lost rigor in contemporary painting—a discipline rooted in persistence and inquiry. Stripping away the image’s source of painting) and its richness endpoint, how should an artist truly engage with the profound process of painting? In confronting the surface of the world and the resilience of human will, what kind of philosophical inquiry should painting undertake?

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Xiang Nan’s work exemplifies an essential approach to artistic exploration: immersing fully in the process of painting itself. He distills his contemplation of imagery directly into the formation of his work—each layered stroke, each pause, even the most spontaneous brush marks. What he offers is no longer a fixed visual effect but an opportunity to “see” the full depth of painting. His seascapes and rocky mountains are both familiar and alien to us all. These scenes arise not from a novel theory of painting, but from the artist’s genuine and unadorned quest. It is an arduous and far-reaching journey, and precisely because these images are so familiar, requiring no further explanation, we are drawn to something beyond the subject matter, to the work itself. This depth, revealed over time, is the unique and profound power of Xiang Nan’s art.

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In the Doorman four-panel painting and the Favoring Winds and the Promised Land series, Xiang Nan merges precise figures with impossible, unreal landscapes, allowing both elements to evolve through a dynamic shift between the fitting and the unfitting. This gradual release from the constraints of specific details pushes the intertwined imagery toward the limits of emotional expression and psychological exploration. The balance between the real and the imagined, wandering freely within these works, extends the painting into deeper contemplation, thus prompting a new definition of the concept of “reality.” In his long-explored Seascape and Gold-Diggers series, the process of painting reveals the possibility of art transcending individual will and desire—offering individuals a temporary opportunity to break free from the suffering of existence and regain profound insights into the essence of the world. These landscapes are not numb or indifferent; our inner selves collide within the interwoven scenery. In these impossible, unknown states, individuals are no longer controlled by personal desires and pain but are connected to the universal principles of worldly desire. We are all searching for answers, all striving for a breakthrough in this process! The anxiety and burdens deep within the soul are released through the act of painting, making his creative process not only an expression of personal emotion but also a profound exploration of the universal human spiritual condition.

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Undeniably, Xiang Nan’s paintings are romantic. In his early abstract landscapes, such as Clouds, Valley, The Long Goodbye, and Night Breeze, thoughts seem to drift weightlessly, revolving around explorations of nature, emotion, and the spiritual realm. His series The Mountains of Horqin evokes the landscapes of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land: “Here is no water but only rock; Rock and no water and the sandy road. The road winding above among the mountains, which are mountains of rock without water.” Xiang Nan deliberately leaves space within his work, preserving a sense of uncertainty about the modern world through abstraction. It is precisely in the tension between abstraction and figuration that art avoids things into Being.

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Xiang Nan’s paintings serve as both a romantic and steadfast guide, urging viewers to return to the canvas, to the present moment, and to truly engage with the artwork. Like a rigorous teacher, he gently reminds us when we grow impatient with the familiar: “Look closely, observe carefully—the most familiar landscapes hold all secrets and wisdom.” Sometimes, what remains unseen is merely a matter of insufficient patience.

Article: Xia Jie/Scholar (Excerpt from the Exhibition)