Xiaoze Xie: Ashes of Memory

Xiaoze Xie: Ashes of Memory surveys the artist’s thirty-year thematic exploration of epistemology, memory, and the fragility of cultural heritage through the lens of library books. Renowned for his paintings, Xie's artistic practice spans a diverse range of media, including video art and installation, enabling him to explore concepts with expanded nuance and depth. Begun in 1993 the Library series introduces Xie’s use of books as tangible metaphors for history, collective memory, and knowledge. Seen in various stages of decay, the books serve as portraits of specific ideological constructions and function as memento mori, evoking the insignificance of the human endeavor against the immensity of natural history. Xie continues the theme of the vulnerability of knowledge in two multimedia installations that reference historical instances where political agents perpetrated the erasure of cultural memory as a means of ideological control. The exhibition culminates in the video installation, Transience, which challenges the viewer to recognize that ideologies and narratives of history are not immutable fact but constructs in perpetual formation. Together, these works reflect Xie's deep concern for the preservation of culture against forces of censorship and historical violence, revealing the importance of defending memory in the face of erasure, and continuously engaging viewers with the complex legacy of knowledge in our world.

Xiaoze Xie was born in 1966 in Guangdong, China and studied at Tsinghua University, the Central Academy of Art and Design in Beijing, and the University of North Texas before becoming the Paul L. & Phyllis Wattis Professor of Art at Stanford University.

On View: January 22–March 14, 2025

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 23, 5–7pm

Hours: Monday–Friday, 11:00am–5:00pm (closed Presidents' Day, February 17)

Ashes of Memory is curated by Janna Keegan, associate curator of contemporary art and programming at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Image: Xiaoze Xie, Sarajevo: Ashes of Memory, 2024. Acrylic, paper, wood, metal, 125 x 135 1/4 x 14 1/4 in.

VISITOR INFORMATION: Stanford Art Gallery is located at 419 Lasuen Mall, off Palm Drive. The gallery is open Monday–Friday, 11:00am–5:00pm. Visitor parking is available in designated areas and payment is managed through ParkMobile (free after 4pm, except by the Oval). Alternatively, take the Caltrain to Palo Alto Transit Center and hop on the free Stanford Marguerite Shuttle. This exhibition is open to Stanford affiliates and the general public. Admission is free. 

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