You grew up in a family of musicians. Has this musical environment influenced your artistic work? How does it manifest in your art?
Yes, I think the influence of music is more evident in how I balance emotion and rationality. I like to use flowing and deforming lines because they are rhythmic yet logically outline the framework of the picture. In my view, color and brushstroke movement are also very important; they are like melody and rhythm in music, quickly evoking people’s emotions and the atmosphere of the scene. Because of this, I also really like the paintings of German Expressionism from the 1990s.
Your works range from painting and sculpture to performance and socially engaged art. How do you decide which medium is best suited for a particular project?
When I have a continuous flow of intuition and emotions that I want to express but cannot articulate with words, I turn to painting, sculpting, and other forms of art. When I feel that merely personal expressions are insufficient to make more people aware of an issue and involve them, I need to mobilize a group. For instance, my art group project „Spring Outing“ attempts to explore the power dynamics between public and private spaces. We invited friends to fill up a bus for a spring outing. The goal was to have enough participating friends so that other passengers couldn’t get on the bus, thereby achieving the purpose of the artwork.
What role do real, and imaginary spaces play in your performances, and how do they merge in your paintings?
In my performance and social intervention works, I attempt to create an ideal place that appears ordinary but is distinguished from everyday life by a few altered factors. For example, in „2022 Drinking Table,“ we moved the most common scene of drinking and chatting in Chinese restaurants to various locations on city streets, which resulted in a surreal theatrical effect. In my paintings, I depict scenes that have truly occurred, refining the colors, and increasing the contrast to distinguish them from the real world. I also overlay many imagined elements and scenes and blur some figures to create a contrast with reality, thereby emphasizing the dramatic conflict in my works.
Who are the people in your works? Friends?
Yes, most of them are acquaintances, friends, and group members, but there are also strangers I have met. I hope to blur their identities. No matter who they are, what special meaning they have to me, or what they are thinking, they are just part of the composition of my painting.
You are also a member of the art collective Mephistofele. Can you tell me more about the group? How are you organized, and what do you see as your mission?
Mephistofele was established in 2017, initially as a film screening organization. I joined in 2020 and led its transformation into an art group, organizing numerous art projects. We don’t have a clear slogan-like manifesto, but we share similar ideas: we are always trying to find a pure land, extending through art to create an ideal space today. This space allows people to come together, shed labels such as identity and background, and get to know each other anew, temporarily deviating from their predetermined life paths.
What defines your daily routine? What takes up most of your time?
I divide my day into three parts. In the morning, after having a healthy and hearty breakfast, I do something that calms my mind. Then I work and create until the evening. After that, I exercise for a long time, and when I come back, I rest, take a walk, and meditate. Most of my time is spent on making artworks, followed by exercising and thinking.
Is there something you can do for hours on end?
Apart from making artworks, I spend a lot of time communicating and discussing new works with group members and friends. I also spend more time exercising, walking in the mountains and forests, and clearing my mind. After interacting with people, I heal myself through solitude.
What new projects or ideas are you planning for the future?
I am currently working on a large-scale painting that is three meters wide. I spent some time in Southeast Asia, and the way people there interact with nature gave me many new insights. I also plan to create a dialogue-based project, inviting friends to engage in progressively deeper discussions on the topic of “artist mutual-help organization” inside a giant mosquito net equipped with a spotlight.
As part of a collaboration between the Ping and Rodach Gallery in Munich and the Blue Mountain Contemporary Art (BMCA), you are showcasing your work in a group exhibition „NÍN HĂO – WAFFENKAMMERSHOW (WIEN -BEJING)“ in Europe for the first time in July. Which of your works will be on display there?
I will be exhibiting my painting series titled „Undercurrent Theater“ this time. These works are inspired by the circumstances of our group’s social intervention project „Undercurrent,“ as well as my memories and imagination. The essence of „Undercurrent“ lies in exploring the fluid relationships between individuals and the collective. My team and I constructed a physical „theater,“ and I have recreated this „theater“ in my paintings. I am very pleased that these works can integrate well with the theme of the group exhibition, which is a collaborative effort with Blue Mountain Contemporary Art (BMCA) and Ping and Rodach Gallery.
Is this your first time in Europe? What do you expect?
This is my fifth time visiting Europe, and I look forward to the artistic atmosphere here bringing me fresh inspiration. I’m excited about engaging more with the local art community during this exhibition. In this environment filled with novelty, I hope to explore deep bonds between people, transcending factors like cultural backgrounds and upbringing. I also look forward to reuniting with friends whom I’ve missed during my time in Europe!
What do you want to do?
I interpret the fluid relationships between self and others, private and public, individual, and collective in a poetic manner. I create numerous spaces including sculptures, social intervention installations, paintings, etc. I simulate my life, mimicking a daily world transformed through „me“ like a theatrical performance.
Luo Xinzi – www.instagram.com/xinzi.luo/
Translated by Rita Chen, Blue Mountain Contemporary Art. www.bmca-art.com, www.instagram.com/bluemountaincontemporaryart/
