GNYP Gallery

Kaifan Wang (°1996, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia) presents an exhibition that evokes childhood memories and a sense of home, both as a physical and mental place. The works continue in a yellow color scheme, referencing the Gobi Desert from his childhood. The exhibition includes references to religious iconography from his Catholic upbringing, with works like 'Melted Halo' and 'Grace comes Down' that re-enact rituals from his youth. The exhibition also features references to artists from the Low Countries and includes an impressive ceiling painting 'Clouds fell on Scorched Field' specially made for the gallery's architecture.

Nour El-Saleh's painting Spleen is a convocation of unanswerable queries: where, when, who, what level(s) of reality? The exhibition title, Interface, might suggest the confected environments of video games. The artist almost always begins painting without knowing what she's going to paint, working towards a heightened hinge zone where it's clear something is about to happen, but not what. El-Saleh paints bodies in extremis, as if flesh were semaphoring inward emotional states, as if emotions reshaped physiognomy, sat literally close to the bone. Figures feel deeply, and sometimes we can intuit what: the relatable desire for change, mingled with fear of its consequences. Part of El-Saleh's skill is to withhold so much while beckoning viewers in, to teeter on narrative's edge while affirming that audiences will never get the full story.