Xinyi Cheng (born 1989 in Wuhan, lives and works in Paris) was awarded the Baloise Art Prize in 2019. As with the previous two prize-winners, Sam Pulitzer and Lawrence Abu Hamdan, this award comes with an acquisition by the Baloise Group for the collection of the Nationalgalerie. In her first solo exhibition in a major museum, Cheng will be presenting around 30 paintings and 6 photographs in the Hamburger Bahnhof, including numerous new works. 

Painting is at the centre of Cheng's artistic practice. Her works often have a focus on male figures. Besides individual portraits, she also depicts her models in their interaction with each other. The surrounding space remains mostly undefined and often consists of internally structured, monochromatic backgrounds. Through this, the bodies of the figures seem to emerge from the surface of the paintings. Their relationship to each other is only hinted at through tender gestures and intimate moments, but also through enigmatic actions, and thus left undefined by Cheng. In her first institutional solo exhibition, Cheng presents a series of new paintings.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication through Wienand Verlag, with a text by the artist and an essay by Sven Beckstette.

The exhibition is made possible by the Baloise Group.

A special exhibition by the Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.