Artist

GU XINGZI
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Biography

Xingzi Gu (they/them), born in 1995 in Nantong, China, currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. They received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018, and completed an MFA at New York University in 2023. Interwoven a wide range of soft color palette with ethereal flowing forms, Gu’s work delves into the unspeakable interplay between intimacy and solitude, the self and the other in the customary behaviors across cultural boundaries. Their works embody the complex experience of traversing geographical and physical limitations, attempting to reconcile the disorientation and weightlessness of a wanderer adrift in a dreamlike, surreal landscape of their own fictional creation. Rooted in a visual language shaped by their oriental sensibilities and upbringing, Gu employs the traditional Chinese brush painting technique, using varying density of color wash–dry and wet, light and thick–to evoke themes of loneliness, alienation, and belonging in the context of migration and displacement. This transformation unfolds within the flowing, nebulous affection of the artwork, where the desire and emotion intertwine with the vaporous sphere. Gu’s painted figures often rest in intimate embrace or exist serenely within an otherworldly realm, lodged in a sensual yet innocent exploration that deepens the fluidity of gender and power dynamics in their relationships. Willing from restraint, Gu’s tranquil compositions enlivened by the unique qualities of their materials, unveil a plethora of ambiguities that extends beyond the narrative on the surface. The self emerges within misty landscapes, where the imagination and reality converge. Their recent solo exhibitions include: Pure Heart Hall, Lubov, New York, 2024; The Feeling Begins, 80WSE Gallery Project Space, New York, 2022. Group exhibitions include: Meet me by the lake, CLEARING, New York, 2024; Can Thought Go On Without A Body?, Stilllife, New York, 2024; dimly at first, Loft 121 Gallery, New York, 2023; Loosie, 80WSE Gallery Project Space, New York, 2023; White Lodge, island gallery, New York, 2023; Nature 2023, CICA – Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gimpo, 2023. Gu Xingzi is the recipient of the Zeta Orionis Fellowship in 2023; the ArtRights Prize from the 11th Prisma Art Prize in 2022; and more. Their work is in the collection of Auckland Central City Library.​

Gu Xingzi, Lili Pond, 2023–24, acrylic on canvas, 106.7 × 152.4 cm, 42 × 60 in
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Solo and two person exhibitions

2024    Pure Heart Hall, Lubov, New York, US
2022    The Feeling Begins, 80WSE Gallery Project Space, New York, US
2019    SLOW FIXTURES, with Jo Geczy, EXTRA Projects at basic studios, Chicago, US 
2018    Loop’s Roving Doom, Loosing Pleasure, with Mia Russell, gallery no one, Chicago, US


Group exhibitions

2024    Meet me by the lake, C L E A R I N G, New York US
2024    Can Thought Go On Without A Body?, StillShow by Stilllife, New York, US  
2023    dimly at first, Loft 121 Gallery, New York, US
2023    Loosie, 80WSE Gallery Project Space, New York, US
2023    White Lodge, island gallery, New York, US
2023    Nature 2023, CICA – Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gimpo, KR
2023    Paroxysm, curated by Alison Pirie, Westbeth Gallery, New York, US  
2023    Very Naughty Super Trashy, Tutu Gallery, New York, US 
2022    Washed Ashore, curated by Adrienne Greenblatt, Fort Tilden Beach, New York, US
2022    Gem Box, LATITUDE Gallery, New York, US
2022    The Patriot, O’Flaherty’s, New York, US
2022    It Fed Me Until It Didn’t, 80WSE Gallery Project Space, New York, US
2021    Exh 7, curated by Floorr, virtual exhibition
2019    Rhetoric of Concepts, Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing, CN 
2018    Open Eyes // Deep Woods, The Yards, Chicago, US
2018    Pocket Object, curated by Noelle Morical, Tusk, Chicago, US
2018    00000 GHOOST $HOW, Green Gallery West, Milwaukee, US
2018    SUMMER SESSION, Produce Model, Chicago, US
2018    Soft Spot, SITE Sharp, Chicago, US
2018    Delicate Cycle, World’s Largest Laundromat, Berwyn, US
2018    Light Sleepers, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, US
2018    SAIC BFA Show, SAIC Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, US


Residencies

2023    Vermont Studio Residency with Fellowship
2022    Program Deep Ecology in the Cognitive Capitalocene, Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art in collaboration with The Brooklyn Rail (with partial scholarship)
2021    Dark Study (advised by Serubiri Moses, Caitlin Cherry and Nicole Maloof), Virtual
2018    Launch Invitational Residency, Chicago Artist Coalition


Grants and Awards

2023    Zeta Orionis Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center
2023    Graduate Student Scholarship, New York University
2022    ArtRights Prize, 11th Prisma Art Prize, Rome
2015    Denise Gerard Scholarships, Auckland University
2015    360 Auckland Abroad Exchange Travel Awards, Auckland University
2014    Rosemary Grice Memorial Prize, Auckland University


Collection

Auckland Central Library, NZ

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