3.
Today, Wang collaborates with four galleries, including top international institutions like Perrotin and Massimo De Carlo. Outsiders often feel that she entered the international art market overnight. She sees it differently. At the beginning of the pandemic, she had no exhibition offers or upcoming projects. Then, a small gallery in Milan discovered her on Instagram and invited her to a group exhibition. It was in that group exhibition that a group of Italian collectors noticed her and continuously recommended her work to others. Within a year, Massimo De Carlo approached her directly.
She stated that along the way, there was no single decisive patron. What truly mattered was that she seized every single opportunity. Whether at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute or Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg, she applied for almost every scholarship, exhibition, and exchange program. Many failed, but she did not stop.
"I think that is how one should live life—not just as an artist, but in anything you do. You have to give it everything you've got just to earn even the slightest chance, but that little bit can give you just enough strength to keep moving forward."
Why do top international galleries favor her so much? Unlike what people might guess—such as age, gender, or Asian identity—her first thought is the artwork itself. She believes that a work must stand the test of time and the market together. A gallery's first exhibition is merely a test of collectors' reactions. What sustains long-term collaboration is always the work. She believes that galleries hope young artists will carry on the tradition established by the abstract masters they already represent.
"I am someone who wants to enter art history."
She remarked, "How can you enter art history? By carrying forward the past and inspiring the future. You can stand on the shoulders of masters, and among so many brilliant people, still find your own path, discover your own language, influence others, and bring inspiration to the younger generation. That is how the entire lineage continues and art history is formed." In her view, the market and art history are not mutually opposed. Picasso is the prime example. Entering museums, entering collecting systems, and entering art history together constitute the complete path of an artist.
4.
As the interview drew to a close, we talked about her upbringing. She has always given the impression of being optimistic, cheerful, and energetic, rarely experiencing internal friction. Yet her voice softened, "Actually, I have always lived a very hard life, I just don't feel it is hard." At this point, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. Starting at age seven, she was sent to a boarding school. For the first three months, she cried herself to sleep every night. One night, taking advantage of a moment when the teachers weren't paying attention, she ran home alone through the rain. When she finally reached her front door, her mother simply sent her right back to school. "All that effort was in vain." Years later, looking back at that experience, she holds no resentment.
"These experiences, like the postures in dance, have melted into my personality. The education my mother gave me was that she would never leave me a way out. Every time I encountered something I couldn't resolve or overcome on my own, I had no choice but to move forward."
The sunlight had shifted to the other side of the exhibition hall, and the artwork quietly hanging in that space of just a few square meters continued to capture everyone's gaze. Just as she believes, a truly good artwork possesses powerful strength in its own right.
Xiyao Wang
Born in Wanzhou, Chongqing, China, in 1992, now lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland.
Il Faraone Sommerso, a solo presentation by Xiyao Wang
MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique
57 Rue de Turenne, 75003 Paris, France
Exhibition Dates: 21 July – 31 July 2026
Luo Ping is a Paris-based artist and art critic. With an academic background in contemporary art history at the École du Louvre, in art at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and in literature, she works primarily in oil painting and engages in dialogue with artists and figures in the art world through interviews and writing. She can be contacted at pingluo.art@gmail.com.
