On the exhibition in Today Art Museuam, Beijing

(curated by: Wang Mingxian)

„Es war ein höchst ungewöhnlicher Beginn für eine noch ungewöhnlichere Ausstellung zu dem in China tabuisierten Thema Kulturrevolution.“ (Die Welt am 19. November 2007; whole article)

„They are disturbing images from his childhood that Chinese artist Xu Weixin cannot forget.

A street battle between two groups that started with stones but ended with guns.

A man lying in the coal bin of an abandoned house, dying from his wounds. People committing suicide.

He witnessed all of these in his hometown of Urumqi during the Cultural Revolution, a decade of death and destruction launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 so awful, even today people won’t talk about it.

It’s taboo. But Xu Weixin is breaking that taboo.“ (The Star am 2. Februar 2008; whole article)

„Historical Chinese Figures: 1966-1976” is not a general genre of portraiture. Its value lies not in the individual affection and personality it represents, but in a series of laden historical questions it raises. Considering our attitude towards historical issues, the raising of questions is itself a challenge to reality. This series of portraits is, in fact, an artistic expression between the painting and the conceptual art form. (…) Being one amongst the audience who literally witness some of these artworks in progress, I’ve thought about the very different historical identities of these figures. They were ordinary people; they existed as parents or children; they, in a very special period of time in Chinese history, voluntarily or involuntarily played the social roles and existed as historical tragic figures.“ Shui Tianzhong, Historical Memory and Realistic Quest; whole article)

„The painting is solemn, concise and simple once the public monumentality is confirmed. Solemnness is the premise of monumentality. It cannot coexistent with frivolity. Frolic comes after frivolity. It is solemnness that recalls history from the silent and remote past. Standing in front of these solemn, serene and huge portraitures, a restless historical uproar is felt. It is like the awakening of symphonic music slowly arising and saturating the tranquil space and serene paintings. It is strangely quiet, and yet, restlessly tumultuous.“ (Wang Min’an, Monumentality, Solemnness and Daftness, in: Wang Ting-chien, Wang Mingxian (Hg.), Xu Weixin – Chinese historical figures: 1966-1976, AK (Beijing, Today Art Museum) Taipei 2007, S. 9 => whole article)

On the exhibition PORTRAITS OF EMPTINESS: Xu Weixin’s Narrative of Post-Maoist China at ChinaSquare in New York (curated by Robert C. Morganim)

Xu Weixin’s examination of the Cultural Revolution is a milestone in Chinese art.  Xu’s monumental portraits force the viewer to challenge the conventional wisdom of forgetting the Cultural Revolution, ultimately making one acknowledge, confront, and reflect on such events.  The much acclaimed series, Chinese Historical Figures, 1966-1976, rendered in black and white, portrays the revolution’s chaos both openly and honestly, contrasting the bright glowing faces of propaganda art.  Also displayed in Portraits of Emptiness is work from Xu’s Chronicle of Chinese Mining series which reveals and ponders humanitarian concerns. Xu sheds light on those who are overlooked, focusing on the everyday individuals, giving a voice to those who are otherwise lost to the collective mass. (Pressemitteilung vom 6.11.2008, whole article)