XIAO HUI WANG | Liberation and Rebirth

XIAO HUI WANG

Liberation and Rebirth

edited by Yinghao Kou

Opening: June 24th at 6:30 pm

MA-EC Gallery

Via Santa Maria Valle 2, Milan

On Wednesday 24 June, the MA-EC Gallery will open Liberazione e Rinascita , the first solo exhibition in Milan by Xiao Hui Wang , one of the most influential contemporary Chinese artists, to whom China has dedicated two museums, in Suzhou and Shanghai.

On display is a selection of photographs and videos by the well-known Tianjin artist belonging to the Eros of Flowers and Early Temptation series. and Self Extrication , made between 1992 and 2007.

Xiao Hui Wang's photography speaks to us of people, the contexts of their lives, of existence at the limits of psychological endurance, of loneliness and desperation. However, her photographs also explore the beauty of the human figure, the erotic tension between man and woman, the lives of women in squalid clubs, and even the eroticism of flowers, whose charged sexuality transcends that of Robert Mapplethorpe's black-and-white photographs, as Beate von Reifenscheid, art historian and director of the Koblenz Museum, stated.

Zhang Jianxing , president of the Tianjin Photography Association, writes: "Why are Xiao Hui Wang's many moments so powerful? The answer lies in the fact that what she captures with her camera lens are not only concrete objects, but also the innate spirit within those objects (...). The flowers in Xiao Hui Wang's photographs are not flowers, the water is not water, the fog is not fog." Her art has also been considered deeply personal: Chinese art historian Gu Zheng called her self-portraits "the most brutally honest (...) in the history of photography."

In 1991, her husband lost his life in a tragic car accident, leaving her seriously injured. Her subsequent rebirth sparked a profound and intense introspection on existence. Since then, Xiao Hui has translated her personal experience into a visual language that explores themes of life, death, love, hope, and freedom. From the blossoming and wilting of flowers, from the bondage of the flesh to the total liberation of the spirit, her works, charged with emotional tension and philosophical depth, respond to the universal questions of human existence.

The exhibition Liberation and Rebirth , as curator Yinghao Kou states, is not only a major retrospective of the artist's decades-long artistic research, but also a profound testimony to her vital force and inner emancipation. The exhibition invites each visitor to be inspired by the works, and then embark on a personal journey of rebirth.

XIAO HUI WANG

Interdisciplinary artist based in Germany, writer, founder of the Interdisciplinary College.

In China, two museums have been dedicated to her, the Xiao Hui Wang Art Museum in Suzhou (which remained active until 2018) and the Xiao Hui Wang Art Museum in Shanghai.

She currently lives between Shanghai and Munich. Her creative work encompasses various fields, including photography, video, sculpture, design, new media art, and writing. She has held numerous solo exhibitions in many countries, and has exhibited twice at Art Basel. Her artwork has been appreciated and collected by internationally renowned art institutions and collectors. She has published over 50 albums and books worldwide. She is the only Chinese artist among the 62 artists included in the art history book "Nude Photography: Masterpieces from the Past 150 Years," published by the respected publisher Prestel in the United Kingdom. United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. His most notable book is the autobiography "My Visual Diary," which has won three literary awards, been reprinted over fifty times, and has been a bestseller for 20 years. It will be adapted into a film. in the near future.

As early as 1990, he challenged the taboos of the time in China with his avant-garde black-and-white nude photography—at a time when artistic nudes were strictly prohibited in the country—introducing a pioneering perspective into the history of contemporary Chinese art.

He has also collaborated with well-known brands, including BMW, MINI, BASF, Lange & Söhne, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, VW, Miele, Meissen, ZWILLING, Christofle, L'Oréal, Pernod Ricard and Helena Rubinstein.

She has received numerous awards, and Hong Kong Phoenix Weekly named her one of the 50 Chinese who will influence the future of the world.

Event coordinates :

Title: Liberation and Rebirth

Solo exhibition by Xiao Hui Wang

edited by Yinghao Kou

Opening: Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 6:30 PM

Location: MA-EC Gallery Palazzo Durini, Via Santa Maria Valle 2, Milan

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 10:00-13:00 and 15:00-19:00; Saturday 15:00-19:00

Until July 24, 2026

Info: info.milanart@gmail.com , 0239831335, IG @maecgallery, www.ma-ec.it