de Sarthe Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Wang Xin at ART021’s 2016 edition, entitled “Welcome to the Art World”. The exhibition is a literal playground of interactive metaphors and symbols.
Featuring a giant hamster wheel for humans, artists acting as bar tenders, a barricaded entrance, and a virtual reality headset that transports users to an alternate reality, Wang Xin’s installations assert a commentary that is both comical and dystopian. The gleeful joy of participants excitedly waiting their turn to spin in the bright-pink hamster wheel clashes poignantly with the notion that monotony of spinning the wheel is a metaphor for the education needed to be a successful artist. The barricades preventing visitors from entering the booth from the sides adds an additional layer of commentary as they reference the exclusivity and elitism that affects much of the art world, seen in events like VIP vernissages at art fairs or private previews of gallery shows.
As a certified hypnotist, Wang Xin’s artwork exudes a mesmerizing energy that is utilized to generate powerful emotional responses, often intentionally contradicting the logical and rational metaphors within her work. Through this clash of emotion and reason, her practice contributes a form of black humor that has come to characterize the outlook of many creatives in China.
Wang Xin is a Chinese new media artist working and living in Shanghai. She graduated from China Academy of Art in 2007 and graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (MFA) in 2011. She has participated in a variety of exhibitions and projects including: The 2nd “CAFA Future” Exhibition: Observer – Creator, West Bund Art & Design Fair, 4th Chinese Visual Art Festival (London), Animamix Biennale 2013-2014 in Shanghai MOCA, artist residency program in Swatch Art Peace Hotel Art Centre, SIMP Project 1.0, Musrara Mix Festival, Jerusalem, Israel, and so on. Her work mainly takes the form of installations, moving images and new media. Unconsciousness, art world system and post-human are key features in her creativity. Wang Xin is also the founder of The Gallery project, which is an alternative art space/system.
