Image: MASSIMODECARLO, Milan
Xue Ruozhe’s ‘One Table, Two Chairs 一桌二椅’ is on view at MASSIMODECARLO London from 3 September to 7 October 2026.
The exhibition, Xue’s first with MASSIMODECARLO London, brings together an entirely new body of work conceived for the gallery’s space. Across its three rooms, the presentation draws on conventions of Chinese theatre as a structural framework. Its title refers to the traditional Chinese opera device in which a table and two chairs can evoke settings including a palace, battlefield or riverbank.
The paintings work primarily in neutral and warm colours, with colour suggested rather than mixed. The exhibition also draws on the classical ink-painting principle of Liu bai (留白), or “leaving blank,” in which parts of a surface remain empty as space for the eye to complete.
Works in the exhibition include ‘Riverrun’, ‘A Ferry Tale’, ‘Medium Close-up’, ‘F64’, ‘Emergency Shelter’, ‘Closer-up’, ‘Two-way release’, ‘See one other’ and ‘MLS’, all dated 2026. Two girls recur throughout the exhibition, including in scenes of crossing a river, catching reflections and facing one another as the same figure twice within a single space.
MASSIMODECARLO London is located at 16 Clifford Street, London W1S 3RG.
