展期 Period：
2024.3.23—2024.5.30
艺术家 Artist：
地点 Venue：
新闻稿 Press Release：
三月底，X美术馆将于二层展厅呈现德国艺术家亚历山大·巴兹尔在中国的首次个展“隐于众目之下”。本次展览囊括了巴兹尔在过去两年中创作的二十一件绘画作品。“隐于众目之下”是一句起源于西方的俗语，意为尽管处于非常显眼的环境之中，事物本身却仍然不被注意。这句俗语揭示出了一种观看的矛盾，反映了隐藏者对沟通和联系的原始渴望。
埃舍尔式的构图、颇具拼贴意味的画面，巴兹尔的创作围绕着日常生活场景展开，对自我进行剖析描绘，同一个画面中往往出现多个自画像，形成多重叙事。这些加密式的人物形象既展示了艺术家的个性，同时也是对其特征的隐藏。巴兹尔在布面上作油画，柔和温润的颜色以及拟物化的自画像融合在背景之中，物品和身体部位通过一种近乎窥视的视角呈现在观者面前。日常生活用品和家庭环境作为巴兹尔艺术实践中的主要客体，镜子、水、蜡烛、浴缸等常常出现在他的画作中。在艺术家的画作中，他将碎片化的身体和面部以异于常态的形式拼贴到日常环境之中，或融于流体、或化为火苗，通过一种超现实的手法构建出暧昧、舒适的隐私氛围，打破了人与周遭环境的边界。
展览作品高度统一地进行着自我身份的剖析，这种剖析不可避免地蕴含着一种脆弱感，随着艺术家对躯体的夸张描绘而暴露出来。作品对居住环境和人物形象的反复使用，或许是对其日常生活的严苛审视和关注，也是更深层次的内心冲突。巴兹尔的作品常常展现个人的隐秘生活，将自身“隐于众目之下”，凸显出自我审视和他者凝视之间强烈的冲突。艺术家作品以细腻的躯体和形态各异的自画像作为主要线索，几乎是在邀请观者进行对话和剖析，但自画像中始终注视着观者的眼神却呈现出一种怀疑的态度，与画作中大胆裸露的细节共同营造出一种不安的氛围。
X Museum is delighted to present German artist Alexander Basil’s first solo exhibition in China. Titled ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’, the exhibition is on view from March to May 2024, on the second floor at X Museum in Beijing. The exhibition includes twenty-one paintings by the artist over the past two years. ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ is an idiom indicating that despite being conspicuous, the object remains unnoticed. The idiom itself reveals a politics of seeing, further reflecting human’s desire for communication and connection.
Basil's works are characterized by Escher-like compositions and collage-like imagery. Taking elements from everyday life, the artist depicts himself in analytical ways. Multiple self-portraits often appear in the same picture, creating multiple narratives. These encrypted figures not only reveal the artist's personality but also conceal his characteristics. Basil works with oil on canvas, blending soft and warm colors with anthropomorphized portraits of self into the background. Objects and bodies are presented to the viewer through an almost voyeuristic perspective. Everyday items and domestic environments are the primary subjects in Basil's artistic practice, with mirrors, water, candles, and bathtubs frequently appearing in his paintings. In his artwork, fragmented images of body and face are merged into everyday settings in unusual forms - becoming fluids or turning into flames. Through a surrealist approach, he constructs an ambiguous and intimate picture space, breaking the boundaries between people and their surroundings.
The works in the exhibition are consistent in exploring identity, inevitably imbued with a sense of vulnerability exposed through the artist's exaggerated portrayal of the body. The recurring scenes of domestic environments and self-portraits in the works may reflect harsh scrutiny of everyday life, as well as deeper inner conflicts. Basil's works often reveal aspects of his personal life, highlighting the intense conflict between self-examination and the gaze of the other. Delicate bodies and self-portraits in various forms serve as the primary clues in the artist's works, almost inviting the viewer to engage in dialogue and analysis. However, in most of the works, the secret gaze from the ‘artist’ carries a sense of skepticism, creating an unsettling atmosphere in contrast with the rich details of mundane life.
