Shafei Xia

Shafei Xia (1989, ShaoXing, China - lives and works in Bologna, Italy) creates work that is playful, provocative, erotic, and meticulously refined. Her art draws comparisons to Japanese shunga and 19th-century Chinese erotic paintings, as well as the cultured narcissism of Luigi Ontani with its rich citations and oriental nuances. Xia’s recent series, executed with watercolors on sandalwood paper stretched on canvas and ceramic, centers on themes of love—explored through desire, jealousy, and violence. These themes are depicted both explicitly and symbolically.

Xia often portrays herself as a tiger, a symbol of power and instinctive force in Chinese alchemy, representing the active principle of energy. Her work features an ironic role reversal between genders and species. Her vibrant paintings are never dull, incorporating unexpected elements that invite deeper inspection.

Shafei Xia’s paintings, much like the erotic prints admired by Picasso for their candidness without vulgarity, explore sexual desire and appetite with an elegant touch. Her delicate treatment of faces, nude bodies, animal movements, and settings maintains a refined aesthetic. As Xia herself explains about her art, she plays the dual role of the tiger and the orchestra conductor, breaking the monotony to create something captivating and unique.

Submitted by P420