The Mongolian Beijing-based artist Xue Mo has a new solo exhibition inspired by the Italian Renaissance paintings and composition. While in the past Xue had relied on colorful, ethnical costume of the Mongolian step to enliven her portraits, here she strips her subjects to the bare minimum, highly stylizing their features, in a way reminiscent to the work of Piero della Francesca and Andrea Mantegna. Using thin paints and very fine brushes, Xue’s portraits evoke a timeless Chinese beauty, full of grace, but also strength. “When western people talk about Mona Lisa, I imagine Chinese people discussing the classic Chinese novel "Dream of Red Mansions." Although one is a painting and the other is a literature work, they illustrate the kind of ideal beauty,” the artist explains, "What is classified as ideal beauty is an important question influencing culture, history, architecture and living. In my latest body of works, I interpreted what is ideal beauty according to my definition."
