Cao Zhen

caozhen0806@126.com

Shenzhen artist Xue Yang, who now works at Guan Shanyue Art Museum, is exhibiting her poetic oil paintings and installations at the “Und Alles Schwieg” (“And All Was Silent”) exhibition at Serpentine Gallery in Shekou. Entry is free.

The exhibition title is from Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus” and a tag line of the exhibition reads, “And all was silent. Yet still in this silence proceeded a new beginning, sign and transformation.”

The exhibition curator Liu Le said that Xue is reborn through painting and she uses her unique methods to perceive the world and express herself. “As Rilke wrote, everything in the world is silent before they meet each other. Once they meet, here comes transformation and then light and hope follow,” Liu explained.

“In Xue’s artworks, I see childhood memories and an innocent heart, as well as the exploration of an inner world and energy, which fascinates me most,” said Zhou He, founder of Serpentine Gallery.

“Creation is not only part of my life but also a haven for me for keeping myself complete and releasing myself. Virginia Woolf once said, ‘A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.’ I think she suggested that a woman needs a space to relieve her pain and loneliness. Now creation is my ‘room’ and I have presented all of my emotions and thoughts through my works,” said Xue.

Dates: Until Aug. 16

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., closed Mondays

Venue: Serpentine Gallery, 109, Block 2, Nanhai E-Cool, Shekou, Nanshan District (南山区蛇口南海意库2栋109蛇口画廊)

Metro: Line 2 to Sea World Station (海上世界站), Exit A