“If that dorm fire hadn’t happened in 1992, it’s very possible that my path in art might have taken a different form. The fire not only burned up many of my works, but also destroyed the things I had accumulated over the years in my transition from a little town to big Shanghai. The fire consumed my joy and my suffering as well as my dreams and my depressions. All of these were gone with yesterday’s wind; leaving behind only the burnt traces and a charred smell. I discovered a certain mark from this fire, and found a kind of language that allowed me to speak.
----Xue Song
  ue Song’s studio is located on the third floor, Bldg No. 8, at Moganshan Road. If you include the balcony, it measures 250 square meters. Even on sunny days, rays of light find it hard to penetrate into the studio. With white walls, an old wooden table, paint, brush, iron pan, candle being placed arbitrarily, the studio is a quiet and free space for Xue Song, an artist who produces art featuring fire and ash.
Xue Song is a heavy smoker. He also can drink four to five cups of coffee a day. Sometimes, he plays music while at work. He often places the material that is to be burned onto his iron pan and then lights up a candle to burn them. After the heat spreads across the piece, he uses his iron brush to extinguish the flame, which results in the birth of a new portrait. Next, he applies glue to the canvas in order to stick the burnt portrait onto a canvas. A small scale work usually takes one or two weeks to complete, while bigger works can take up to three months.
Xue Song’s home is very much close to his studio. He works in his studio from noon to nightfall. Xue Song has no assistants, but sometimes his younger brother will come once a week to assist him.
After Xue Song’s solo exhibition in Shanghai Art Museum he is planning to hold a solo show in Taiwan, at the Changliu Art Museum this August. He may attend a group show in Cuba, organizing by Chen Xindong.
Xue Song
Xue Song talks with ArtZine
Xue Song's studio
Xue Song's studio
Xue Song's studio
New work by Xue Song
Xue Song's studio
Rest area
Xue Song's work
Xue Song's Studio
Xue Song's studio
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