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  • Xia Jianning
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Born in Jiangxi in 1984;
In 2007, he graduated from the Comprehensive Painting Department of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts.
In 2010, he graduated from the graduate class of contemporary art creation at the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University.
He currently lives and works in Beijing

Solo exhibition
2021
"Dynamic View of Nature", at 3 Gallery, Beijing
2016 
"'The Strangeness of Life': Xia Jianning's Innocent Eye and Artistic Freedom", 798 Art District, Beijing

Group Exhibition
2023
"The Rush of Forms" Shenzhen Hi Art 5th Anniversary Invitational Exhibition, Hi Art Center, Shenzhen
"Unlimited. Contemporary Art Invitational Exhibition, 798 International Art Exchange Center, Beijing
2022
"Symbiosis-Change", 798 Han Art Space, Beijing
2021  
"Expression of China" Young Contemporary Art Nomination Exhibition, Huatai Art Museum, Shanghai
"Observation" Artist Introduction Exhibition, 3 Gallery, Beijing
"New Perspectives: Art Nova + Outstanding Works", Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2020 
"Dedicate the Light to the Midsummer Night That Is About to Disappear", Void Room Together, Beijing
"Art Nova +" Overseas Touring Exhibition, Sydney, Australia
2019 
"Focus on China" - Chinese Contemporary Youth Art Exhibition, Bucharest, Romania
"Art Nova +" Overseas Touring Exhibition, Seoul, South Korea
2018 
"Art Nova +" Overseas Touring Exhibition, Stockholm, Sweden
"Colorful Chinese Miniature Art Exhibition", Venice, Italy 
"Time Difference: Young Art +" Touring Exhibition of Works by Young Contemporary Artists, Barbizon, France
"The First Powerlong Art Award Outstanding Works Exhibition", Powerlong Art Center, Hangzhou
"Wu Yu" Chinese Contemporary Young Artists Exhibition, 798 Art District, Beijing
2017
"Art Nova +" Annual Exhibition, Himalayas Art Museum, Shanghai
"Moisturizing Things Silently", 798 Art District, Beijing
2016
"Dante in China" Contemporary Art Exhibition, Beijing Normal University, Beijing
National Sketch Art Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing
"Another Vision" Painting Language Research Exhibition, Times Art Museum, Beijing 
2015 
"Visual Transformation" Contemporary Painting and Multi-expression Invitational Exhibition, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang
2014
New Imagery Continuation: The Third Eye, Fang Contemporary Art Center, Yinchuan
"New Image-Taihe" Chinese Young Contemporary Artists Western Invitational Exhibition, Ningxia Library Art Museum, Yinchuan
"Positive and Negative Contemporary Oil Painting Invitational Exhibition", No. 1 Jianguomen Nei Street Art Space, Beijing
2013
"Mellow Color" Western Youth Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Art, Yinchuan
"Looking Back on the Landscape", 798 Millennium Time Gallery, Beijing
"Joint Exhibition of Korean, Chinese and Japanese Artists", 798 Rose, Beijing
2012
"Colorful" Rising Star Artists Group Exhibition, Sanlitun SOHO, Beijing
The 5th May Fourth International Youth Art Festival, 798 Yue Art Museum, Beijing
2011
"Wounded City Contemporary Art Exhibition", Song Art Museum, Beijing
"Contemporary Oil Painting Exhibition", Art Museum of Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University, Beijing
"WTO Accession Landscape Tour", Art Museum of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Tianjin
"Scenery of WTO Accession", Today Art Museum, Beijing
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Watching Xia Jianning’s works and looking at his uniquely styled pictures, it is like feeling some subtle and frugal images, calm and steady, simple and easy, just as a handle style that has changed irregularly from classic art --- gentle and kindhearted, courteous and moderate reflection on the noisy of contemporary art, the return to tranquility, the return to the true heart and craftsmanship.

The artist's work stems from the superiority of the "art" state and the depth of the "technical" ability, which are more concretely reflected by Xia Jianning in the depth of emotion and the toughness of work.  On the floor of his mind, "art" In the "Microcosmic Series" works composed by his carefully conceived and hard-working "convex mould·stitch", from the "technique" and the tenacious endurance one can read his exquisite craftsmanship, realize the microscopic and delicate lingering charm of the art works, and experience the quality perception of "good value for market, superior value in skills".

Xia Jianning's art brings us a strange way of reading: from a distance, a close-up, a detail and a magnifying glass to watch the front and the side, the same work will have different visual sensibility under a variety of spatial perspectives.  These effects are due to the "two-step method" he created: the first step is to protrude on a two-dimensional plane the accumulation of different shapes, contrasting sizes, and well spaced density.  These postures remind me of the metaphor of a thousand plateaus on the vast land, or the turbulent crests and waves on the horizontal surface, the white clouds hanging in the sky... Shaping on a flat surface can conform to the abstraction principle of subtle computing, and can also be used in the analogy of all forms in the primitiveness of nature.  But when gathered in the work, the important thing is to test how could be the richness of the visual experience that the artist’s creativity brings to the viewer?  Xia Jianning works hard on this.  The second step is to weave the net with silk-like stitches, and cover all the protrusions with a gray style.  From a distance, it looks like gray floating objects with color gradual gradients on a white bottom plate, or even faintly visible abstract sketches; from a close view, it looks like the posture of each hill or island, the changing lines are entertaining an indeterminate natural texture interweaving...-Chai ZhongJian

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