Behind the wall

This marks the artist’s second solo exhibition with Keyi Gallery following Far Oasis. The exhibition features more than ten paintings created by Xing Wanli over the past year

Although several works in the exhibition contain forms that resemble architectural structures, the  “wall“ invoked in the title Behind the wall does not refer to a physical architectural unit. Rather, it signifies a kind of resistance that gradually emerges as the painting progresses. Each time a work approaches completion, a subtle and intangible counterforce surfaces, pushing the image toward a critical threshold between formation and loss of control. “Behind the wall“ thus points to a deliberately sustained state of suspension—an open condition that has neither fully entered into resolution nor entirely withdrawn from it. Completion is intentionally deferred; stability is no longer an end point but a provisional balance maintained through continual adjustment.

The water strider poised between the surface of water and the air offers an apt analogy for this experience. Its body is allowed to rest, yet only through the ongoing calibration of delicate forces. Any excessive exertion risks rupturing the surface tension and precipitating structural collapse.

Xing Wanli’s creation also takes place on such a narrow critical line: he is accustomed to maintaining a two-sided picture: on the one hand, overly clear images will quickly close the generation space of the picture, causing it to slide towards determination and naming; On the other hand, excessive covering and smearing may cause the picture to fall into an undifferentiated chaos. His paintings are repeatedly calibrated between these two risks and maintained on a surface that has not yet been fully settled.