Ostensibly intrigued by the potentials of blending eastern and western aesthetics, Jiangsu-born artist Xu Lei has been making his mark as a modernist painter of distinctly Chinese character for nearly two decades. Known for their surreal juxtaposition of animals, everyday objects and incongruent framing devices that theatrically pop out in the foreground, Xu’s works distantly echo the surrealist spirit of René Magritte and Marcel Duchamp – despite their predominant use of traditional painting tools and deeply entrenched roots in Chinese literature and philosophy. We talk to the artist at his latest exhibition in Hong Kong, which is presented as part of Le French May Arts Festival and showcases a variety of Xu’s representative works over the past decade.

Can you tell us a bit about your exhibition title, The Story of Emptiness?
In terms of my artistic practice, I think I’m a nihilist. Nihilism is quite a prominent idea in Chinese culture. [Things are] illusory, life is capricious, and there’s [the proverb about] the moon in the water and the flowers in the mirror: they’re all referring to the same thing. Men come into this world and they are but brief visitors that hastily rush through lives. Many subjects in my work, such as water, are representing time. Time washes away our lives and swallows everything that belongs to us. [Through my work, I’m trying to] make time stop. We can then experience and quietly contemplate it.

In your mind, are these images you capture completely still? Or are they part of an ongoing narrative?
I should put it this way: they’re like [being presented on] a stage. You can’t see the performance at the front, and you can’t see what’s about to happen in the backstage. This is the still moment in-between. When you see this image, you think about its [objects’] past and current lives.

Can I say that your works are caught in a stage of transition?
Yes, yes. The curtains and the folding screens [in my paintings], they’ve hidden a lot of secrets. To me, what remains unseen may be more important.

How would you address the connection between surrealism and your work?
The scope of surrealism is actually very wide; it takes the form of magic realism in South America, and every country has its tradition along that line. Even magic can be considered [a form of] surreal [presentation]. I think an important figure in the 20th century is [Sigmund] Freud. I like Freud very much. He has a great influence on me, and my paintings are filled with elements of psychology. This may have a connection [between my work and] surrealism.

Interview: Edmund Lee

The Story of Emptiness is at Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery until June 30.