LCE GALLERY officially launched the joint exhibition "Mild Sharpness" by artists Zhang Zixuan and Wang Shaoqiang on September 30, 2023. This is also the first solo exhibition in Beijing for both artists. Curated by Vivi Chen, the exhibition focuses on "humanity" and explores "reality" through the fragments of reality depicted by the artists.

The two artists are like lying on the same musical staff, resonating in the same frequency. Despite their completely different personalities, experiences, and techniques, they miraculously intersect at many frequency points, bringing us surprises and inspiration.

Zhang Zixuan, an artist born in the 1980s, holds dual master's degrees in economics and art. She became a professional artist in 2014. Her works continue the theme of "close proximity" of the "new generation" of painters, further expanding it to the "subject perspective" of "my world." She uses uniform and expressionless figures, swollen bodies, and focuses on depicting body language while intentionally ignoring facial expressions, weakening the uniqueness of the characters and emphasizing commonality, reflecting the diverse deficiencies in social reality. The works exhibited in this exhibition have been selected and sorted from the artist's creations since 2014, including the Northwestern plein air period, the period of residence in Germany, the period of exploring multiple styles, and a large number of canvas and paper works created recently. In combination with the theme of this exhibition, it presents the artistic creation context and changes over the past nine years.

Wang Shaoqiang, born in 1990, graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts and the MFA program of Shanghai Normal University Fine Arts College. His works often depict commonplace corners and fleeting moments, creating a calm and distant atmosphere and profound artistic conception. Worn-out objects, theater seats neatly arranged but ignored, a corner of a kitchen cabinet illuminated by bright and gentle evening light, strangers' shoes, stories happening in sunlight... He enlarges and enhances certain details, using them to aesthetically shape his intuitive views on life and the relationship between society and the environment, and to unfold imagination and narratives about time and space, imbuing the ordinary with transient meaning.

"Mild Sharpness" uses a clue and certain characteristics to bring together the emotions, feelings, and life experiences of both individuals, allowing them to shine brilliantly in their own ways.

-Gentleness is the inner calmness after enduring long pain, while sharpness represents the spirit of freedom and independence.