XINYUAN NAN: A Little Lower Than the Angels
Artists: XINYUAN NAN
2026-01-17 – 2026-01-31 · Hangzhou · L Gallery
XINYUAN NAN: A Little Lower Than the Angels — solo exhibition by XINYUAN NAN at L Gallery, Hangzhou, 17 Jan – 31 Jan 2026.
“A Little Lower Than the Angels” is, at its core, a description of the human condition.
I have always been fascinated by the use of immense and expansive concepts to describe something comparatively small. Such a contrast allows me to locate my own position as an individual within vast narratives of time and space. From that vantage point, my perceptions as a small and ordinary person are amplified, giving rise to an inner world that is itself immense and singular. Through this process, things acquire meaning; I begin to reflect, and eventually, to create.
Having grown up immersed in Eastern cultural traditions, my artistic practice relies deeply on the depiction of objects and images as vessels for emotion. Within my work, the human figure becomes a narrator—connecting disparate elements and guiding the stories that unfold across the surface of the painting.
This exhibition revolves around questions of humanity. Through my own limited understanding of life and death, I hope to gently approach the question of what my existence might mean within the immeasurable dimensions of time and space. Through every detail of these works, I hope to glimpse myself twice in the same river flowing through the small world I have created.
I also hope that these works may evoke thoughts and feelings of your own. I have always believed that an artwork is not truly complete until the moment a viewer stands before it. The act of creation may begin from something deeply personal, yet certain emotions have a way of resonating beyond the self. That resonance belongs to all of us—a quiet understanding shared between human beings.
