Autobiographical and dream world imagery blend within the paintings of Rei Xiao to tell stories that are both whimsical and morbid. Pulling from her Chinese-Turkish heritage, the artist states of her work: “I depict hybridity and in-betweenness, projecting my inner world onto objects and animals. Through painting, I explore realms beyond trauma, perceiving darkness as my zero point in a vast coordinate system.” Populated with strange, chimeric figures and recurring self-portraits, Xiao’s paintings hint at fairy tales and darker narratives, allegories and metaphors for the human condition and the world around us.
Xiao earned her BFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, with additional study at Central Saint Martins at the University of Arts, London, United Kingdom. She has exhibited her works in shows in Istanbul, Turkey, London, and in the United States and has held artist residencies at ChaNorth and the Vermont Studio Center. She is also a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant. In addition to her studio practice, Xiao provides studio assistance to several New York City based artists.
Xiao lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Instagram: reixiao_
