PHILLIPS PRESENTS
ARTISTS OF THE UPPER EAST: INDEPENDENCE & RESONANCE IN A CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT
DURING SHANGHAI ART WEEK THIS NOVEMBER
On View at Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li, from 10–12 November
Left to right: Xu Hualing, Shen Ling, Wang Yuping (upper right), Shen Liang (bottom right)
Shanghai – 28 October 2026- As part of the ongoing Living Art partnership between Phillips and Capella Hotel Group, Phillips will present Artists of the Upper East: Independence & Resonance in a Contemporary Context at Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li from 10 to 12 November, during Shanghai Art Week. The exhibition brings together works by four highly accomplished contemporary Chinese artists: Xu Hualing, Shen Liang, Shen Ling, and Wang Yuping. Though all four artists reside in Beijing and belong to the same extended family, each has developed a distinct artistic language and visual style.
Featuring more than 20 works created from the 1990s to the present, the exhibition spans a diverse range of media, including ink and colour on silk, oil pastel on handmade paper, and oil on canvas, highlighting three decades of artistic exploration and practice. Rather than seeking uniformity, the exhibition focuses on the individuality of each artist's creative vision, allowing differences to coexist in dialogue and revealing the richness and diversity of contemporary artistic expression. Encompassing portraits, landscapes, and still lifes, the works on view respond to everyday life and observations of the natural world while reflecting on personal experience, cultural memory, and the inner spiritual landscape.
Xu Hualing expands the boundaries of contemporary Eastern gongbi painting, employing subtle colour washes on silk to explore personal narrative, feminine perception, and spiritual introspection. In doing so, she thoughtfully reimagines the aesthetic and intellectual horizons of this traditional medium. Shen Liang engages deeply with themes of image and memory, operating in the fluid space between representation and abstraction. Through a distinctive treatment of surface and texture, he investigates and visually reconstructs the shifting layers of urban landscapes. Through expressive painting, Shen Ling confronts the raw reality of individual experience. Her intense palette and dynamic brushwork delve into human emotion and the essence of existence, resulting in vivid, deeply resonant portrayals of the human condition. Wang Yuping captures the poetic rhythm of daily life, transforming the familiar through fluid brushwork and vibrant, unmixed colour. His work elevates fleeting, ordinary moments—infusing them with vitality, subtle beauty, and lasting artistic resonance.
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Xu Hualing The True Person No. 6, 2026 ink and colour on silk, 60 x 74 cm. |
Wang Yuping Table Lamp, 2021 acrylic on paper, 42 x 56 cm.
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One of the exhibition highlights is The True Person No. 6 by Xu Hualing. Working with the translucent texture of silk, the artist transforms mountains into ethereal veils of pale blue that drift between presence and absence. Rather than depicting a physical landscape, Xu creates an inner vision that blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination. Through the refined language of contemporary gongbi painting, she offers a contemplative exploration of perception and self-reflection.
Table Lamp by Wang Yuping transforms an everyday object into a quiet, poetic image. Using soft, loose brushstrokes, he reduces a simple table lamp to its essential form, with a mint-green lampshade gently emerging against a pale background. Rather than depicting the object realistically, Wang captures its lingering presence in memory, conveying the calm and understated beauty of everyday life.
Overnight, a Wind Jealous of Flowers by Shen Ling depicts a vibrant lotus pond alive with red carp weaving through layers of lotus leaves and aquatic plants. Rendered in vivid colours and expressive brushstrokes, the work brims with energy and vitality. Drawing on the imagery of a wind-swept pond, Shen combines the dynamism of nature with her deeply personal emotional expression, celebrating the beauty and exuberance of life.
Sleeping Buddha by Shen Liang depicts two blooming purple magnolias against a dark background, with a small reclining Buddha nestled among the branches. Contrasting the flowers’ vitality with the Buddha’s quiet repose, the work reflects on time, tranquility, and inner freedom, infusing a traditional floral subject with a contemplative, contemporary sensibility.
The exhibition highlights the diversity of contemporary Chinese art, inviting audiences to discover resonance through difference and experience the vitality of contemporary culture through distinct artistic voices.
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Shen Ling Overnight, a Wind Jealous of Flowers, 2013 oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm.
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Shen Liang Sleeping Buddha, 2026 acrylic on wood panel, 180 x 140 cm.
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Artists of the Upper East: Independence & Resonance in a Contemporary Context
VIP Preview (By Invitation Only): 10 November, Tuesday, 11am-8pm
Public Exhibition: 11& 12 November, Wednesday & Thursday, 11am-7pm
Location: Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li | 480 West Jianguo Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai