Xiaoze Xie began The Library Series of paintings in 1993, when stacks of sleeping books on library shelves first intrigued him. In this exhibition Xie continues to explore this theme, depicting art books and also music scores from the collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.
As with Xie’s recent MoMA Library series, the new paintings are both precise images and abstract compositions. Bits of colour, fragments of typeset text and halftone images punctuate dark, atmospheric spaces and the enlarged texture of paper and cloth are carefully rendered with opulent brushwork. This exhibition includes new paintings of music scores and Xie’s paintings emulate this most abstract art form, where meaning is deeply encoded to give rise to pure emotion.
Xiaoze Xie was born in China and emigrated to the United States in 1992. He has exhibited internationally and was recently appointed professor of art at Stanford University.