Memory Deluge

Xiangni Song at VillageOneArt presents the artist’s alluring yet idiosyncratic paintings: compositions that approximate both physical and emotional realities, with figures rendered in soft gradients and loose brushwork. Domestic scenes are infused with imaginative observations, with moods depicted by shadows moving across a father’s expression in One Absent, for example, while in works such as Yellow Raincoat the central figure crouches, flanked by an abstracted, impressionist background approximating a rainy scene. Song creates scenes that feel almost realistic yet still feverishly dreamlike, hinting at the disparate ways we form connections to the world around us through a color palette awash with jewel tones and pastels and a careful yet loose painting style. The artist reflects that she builds these paintings up to reflect various states of being, ruminating on our identities, dreams and social structures. In her nebulous approach to world-building, Song draws from aspects of the world around us, both analytical and intuitive, direct yet mysterious, to communicate subject matter, feelings and qualities such as memory and longing at the visceral level.

Playful yet probing, this solo presentation of new work by Song offers new perspectives on figuration for a new generation. In One Absent, a family gathers around a traditional game of mahjong that is missing one player. The palpable tension in the room is communicated through posture, facial expression and the physical distance between the players. “The characters, creatures and space are not completely accurate but are slightly off from reality,” remarks Song. By suffusing these scenes with a hint of the surreal, the aspects of reality that are inherent in these paintings emerge more clearly, defining a palpable sense of wonder.