The solo exhibition Chen Xi: The Rabbit's Story opened at MUSEC (Museum of Cultures, Lugano), Switzerland, on October 15, 2025. The exhibition offers a focused presentation of the artist's vivid experiences and articulations of the contemporary world, as perceived by a distinct individual.

Having personally witnessed the profound transformations in China over nearly half a century, this contemporary Chinese female artist's practice encapsulates and presents a shifting visual history of the nation from the 1990s to the present. Furthermore, it represents the personal history of her own development as a woman and an artist amid this historical progression.

The exhibition is curated by renowned art historian Lü Peng. As he states, "The artist's work is deeply engaged with Chinese reality, marked by continuous experiments with artistic language. Today, she takes this further by delineating her most intimate anxieties, attempting to pose inner questions to enter into a dialogue with the world. This exhibition will offer viewers a compelling case study for understanding the state of contemporary art in China."

The exhibition, The Rabbit's Story, follows the trajectory of the "rabbit" across different contexts as a central thread, linking the artist's evolving perspectives on the world and life from various periods of her career.

From the Expressionist visual language she developed in the 1990s, to her works themed on the "self" after 2000, and then to the "'humane and warm'" "China Memory" series, culminating in the sudden emergence of the "rabbit" motif over the past decade, Chen Xi uses individual stories to explore the individual's place and problems within human society: When possibilities arise, how should one face the future? When an individual is isolated, as if on a deserted island, how can they seek potential redemption? When societal changes themselves are overwhelming, what is the meaning of life?

at the exhibition

A press conference for the exhibition was held on the morning of October 15, followed by the opening reception in the afternoon.

The event was attended by the Vice Mayor of Lugano; the Director of MUSEC; curator Lü Peng; artist Chen Xi; Catherine Castillon, General Manager of SKIRA Publishing Group; curator Massimiliano Vitali; local Swiss collectors; Professor Andrea from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts; Professor Saverio Simi from the Venice Academy of Fine Arts; Silvio Cattani, Deputy Director of MART Museum; Manuela Schiavano; curator Li Guohua; Luo Ying, Editor-in-Chief of Hi-Art; and Ning Wen, Artistic Director of ARTnews China, among other figures from the art world, as well as art media from Europe and China.

Paolo, Director of MUSEC, stated: "We are delighted to welcome Chinese artist Chen Xi to Lugano. The rabbit motif in Chen Xi's work originates directly from her reading of John Updike's novel series.

John Updike's Rabbit, Run and its sequels depict the life of former basketball player Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom, who constantly tries to escape the constraints of his life. Set against the backdrop of American social change in the latter half of the 20th century, the series offers an ironic retrospective on the author's own unsettled identity. This, to a certain extent, can be compared to Chen Xi's own experience of living in a rapidly transforming China over the past several decades.

We cannot predict the ultimate fate of the rabbits in Chen Xi's art, nor do we know if they will become eternal artistic symbols for the future, nourishing an ever-evolving world of cultural imagination. But in this captivating exhibition at MUSEC, countless rabbits chase and leap through the halls of Villa Malpensata. The meaning they seek can only be established through the resonance they find with an international audience."

Artist Chen Xi stated: "I am thrilled to be in Switzerland, here in Lugano, to present this exhibition of my 'Rabbit' series. My sincere thanks go to the museum and the entire team.

Although the world is full of turmoil, as long as communication and dialogue exist, we can have a better future. I hope everyone loves art. As an artist, I also hope to continue engaging internationally, sparking new dialogues and 'collisions' with international audiences, museums, and fellow artists."

Curator Lü Peng speaking at the opening.

Curator Lü Peng stated: "As the curator, I hope that the audience today can, through art, truly enter into a dialogue with the artist. People from different countries and regions, in seeking to understand one another, can find common ground in the artist's language, style, and content—a common ground in their perceptions of the world, of people, and of events.

Chen Xi's art has its own distinct characteristics. Each stage of her practice is connected to society. Through her paintings, we can see humanity's inner feelings and intellectual responses when facing different contexts. Her works contain daily life, but they also reflect the psychological responses to the unpredictable changes in global politics and economics. The combination of these two aspects constitutes the significance of her work. I hope Chen Xi's art can bring a unique experience to the audiences in Switzerland and, indeed, in Europe.

I am an art historian. In the last century, I studied a great deal of Western art history. But after the 1990s, I shifted my focus more towards contemporary art in China. This is because contemporary Chinese art presents the transformations in China, and China's transformation is the most crucial component in the world's process of globalization. This is also a significant reason why Chen Xi is able to exhibit in Lugano, Switzerland, today."

Throughout her different artistic phases, Chen Xi has consistently demonstrated a critical observation of daily work and domestic life, challenging and departing from traditional values. She was a participant in the rise of Chinese women artists in the 1990s. While navigating the vicissitudes of her personal life, she observes the complex relationships between the individual, society, and the state, maintaining a critical perspective on history.

As a contemporary individual, unyieldingly inquisitive in the face of anxiety, her personal journey and the world's transformations—this confluence of factors—have culminated in the creation of the deeply symbolic "rabbit."

Creation itself embodies the artist's inner freedom and anxiety. Faced with the exceptionally rich array of artistic languages and mediums available today, Chen Xi has never stopped exploring new possibilities in painting. She refuses to let superficial impulses or the mere habit of painting dictate her creation; instead, she allows her unique personal experiences to continually propel a freer expression.

As she herself states: "Painting is the form of expression I am most familiar with and the one I excel at. But that is not important at all today. What is important is that choosing to continue painting is equivalent to declaring a choice: to live in a way that remains unpretentious, humane, and full of human warmth, and to retain the intention to confront the reality of life."

Like a beam of light offering an internal revelation, the 'rabbits' of Updike and Beuys guided Chen Xi toward a state of greater spiritual freedom. The 'rabbits' from different periods continuously present an experiential narrative shaped by her environment and the influence of 'the Other'. The world's volatile changes since 2020 have also forged the trajectory of the "rabbit" across different contexts, posing complex questions to every viewer caught in our contemporary predicament: Are we not, ourselves, trapped rabbits?

Artist Chen Xi's The Rabbit's Story is filled with an anxiety about the world and the struggle against that very anxiety. Furthermore, it continually inscribes a story of the past, the present, and the future.