"To me, the difference between following and breaking rules is not so great. It is fine as long as it is done with sincerity. I do not paint for the purpose of servicing someone superior. I paint what concerns me here and now" – Wang Xingwei

Wang Xingwei rejects elitism in art. Since the mid 1990s, he started appropriating classic works from art history and experimented with them in terms of concept, style, and format on a massive scale. After 2000, the visual resources from which he drew inspiration broadened considerably. The couple in Untitled (Small Rowboat) made repeated appearance in his works during this period. They became regular characters who frolic...