SHAFEI XIA  

In Shafei Xia’s paintings, tiger meets pig, nude women, tortoise and clown. Inspired by filmmakers such as Charlie Chaplin and Fredrico Fellini, the artist is humorous and takes the canvas as her circus. Describing herself as both actor and director, she embodies her painting's creatures to set an anthropomorphic scene. Objects shift from one to another; an armchair transforms from a chair to a stage; a vanity from mirror to window.

Tucked away in corners couples engage in acts of intimacy, framed by soft curtains and curling flower petals. In You Can See Yourself, 2022 women with exposed breasts dance to trumpet song, half-dressed acrobats balance next to lounging tigers, peaches topple from overfilled baskets, and when used as a telescope a pig is revealed.

This is reflective of the body of work, hidden details are revealed with each look. The characters in the works carry a rosy blush on their faces and genitals, colouring the paintings with eroticism. All these references amount to delicate yet playful work, with an underlying cheekiness that is signature to the artist's work.

Solo Shows include It is Better to be Cats than be Loved, Tabula Rasa Gallery London, 2022; Passando avanti alla mia finestra, P420, Bologna, IT, 2022; Assolo #1, Francesca Antonini Arte Contemporanea, Rome, IT,2021;Principessa Shafei, Palazzo Borromeo, Milan, IT, 2021; amongst others.

Group Shows include; quel jour sommes- nous?, Tokonoma, Kassel, DE,2022; Il giardino dell'arte. Opere, collezioni, Centro Pecci per l'Ar- te Contemporanea, Prato, IT, 2022; DANAE REVISITED, curated by Carlo Sala, Fondazione Francesco Fabbri, Pieve di Soligo (TV), 2021; Sedimenti #2, Sala del torrione, Castelnuovo Rangone , MO, IT, 2021; L'oro d'Oriente.Fusioni, migrazioni, contaminazioni, Crete piece unique, Bologna, IT, 2020; Arte fiera, stand Fondazione Zucchelli, Bologna, IT, 2020; Habitat.Dialoghi tra arte e natura a Palazzo Magnani, Palazzo Magnani, Bologna, IT, 2019; La natura delle cose, Mtn\Museo Temporaneo Navile, Bologna, IT, 2019.