BOUNDED SPACE is honored to announce that from October 1st to November 12th, 2026, it will present artist Xu Longsen’s solo exhibition, titled Shan Shui. This exhibition with invited commentary by Lei Lai.
Shan Shui Beyond Paradigms
What does it mean to belong to the Shan Shui tradition yet refuse to be confined by its established paradigms? Xu Longsen answers through his art. To him, “Shan Shui culture” is far more expansive than “Shan Shui painting”; he takes Shan Shui culture as his foundation, not the paradigms of brush and ink.
Xu Longsen opposes the theory that “calligraphy and painting share the same origin”, arguing that Cun fa (texture strokes) originally derived from depicting real rocks and mountains. He knows well that mild revisions yield no effect—only forceful, bold gestures can shake the foundations. His anti-traditional impulse is not a rejection of tradition itself, but a rejection of tradition that has become merely traditional-looking.
Wool felt prevents ink from seeping through and disperses the brush tip. Cun fa are transformed from legible brush lines into uncontrollable ink traces; the material dismantles established brush-and-ink mechanisms, turning what would be deemed “mistakes” into a new language.
Traditional Shan Shui painting is an art of “reading”. Xu Longsen’s works often exceed ten metres, compelling viewers to draw near, step back, and turn their bodies—Shan Shui (landscape) is transformed from an image into an installation-like space that demands bodily immersion. Once human figures and paths are removed, the overwhelming “fullness” of these monumental works opens onto “emptiness”.
Shan Shui culture breaks free from entrenched paradigms; monumental scale turns Shan Shui into a space for bodily presence; wool felt disintegrates Cun fa into untamed ink traces. Tradition is not discarded, yet those elements most readily passed down through inheritance are stripped away layer by layer. What remains is mountains, ink, space, and a scale that grows increasingly inhospitable to human presence—what the heart yearns for is a place untouched by humankind, raising the eyes, water merges with sky—after all, between heaven and earth, there has long been no one left.
By Lei Lai
1956 Born in Shanghai, China
1976 Graduated from the Shanghai Arts and Crafts College, Shanghai, China
Currently lives in Beijing, China
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2026 A Lofty Peak, One Art Museum, Beijing, China
2025 Misty Aura: XU Longsen , Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, China
Infinite Horizons: Shanshui Paintings by Xu Longsen, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
Peaks and Petals, Sunyard·Sinceren Art Center, Hangzhou, China
2019 Xu Longsen Solo Exhibition, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, US
Xu Longsen Solo Exhibition, Art ShenZhen, Shenzhen, China
2018 Xu Longsen Solo Exhibition, Art Basel Miami BeachMiami, US
Mountains in the Clouds, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, China
Xu Longsen: Light of Heaven, The Art Institute of Chicago, US
2017 Shanshui Totem - Xu Longsen’s Solo Exhibition, Harper’s Bazzar 150th Anniversary Exhibition, Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, China
2016 Wind on the Mountain, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2015 The Invincible Mountains and The Dynamic Forest, Beyond, Abu Dhabi Art, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District, UAE
Beholding the Mountain with Awe No.1, Encounters, Art Basel Hong Kong
XU Longsen, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2014 Jade Stone from Kunlun: Chinese Shanshui Painting Exhibition by Xu Longsen, Museum of Contemporary Art, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China
2013 Landscape Painting Exhibition by Xu Longsen·Nanjing, Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing, China
Journey through Mountains & Rivers: Chinese Landscapes Ancient & Modern, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, US
2012 Shanshui Totem - Xu Longsen Shanshui Art Exhibition, The Brunei Gallery, University of London, UK
2011 Xu Longsen, On Top of Two Empires, Museum of Roman Civilization, Rome, Italy
2010 Rouge - Xu Longsen Landscape Painting Exhibition, Picasso Studio, Paris, France
2009 Xu Longsen, On Top of A Thousand Mountains, Palace of Justice, Brussels, Belgium
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 “The 3rd urban ink painting academic Invitation Exhibition”，Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
2021 “Super- Fusion”-2021 Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu, China
2021 “Harmo-power”the First Jinan Internatio” ,Jinan Art Museum, Jinan, China
2021 “The Twofoldness of Nature”--The 2nd Xi’An Invitation Exhibition of Landscape Art, Xi’An Cui Zhenkuan Art Museum, Xi’An, China
2019 “The twofoldness of nature”-- Xi’An 2019 Invitation exhibition of landscape art, Xi’An Cui Zhenkuan Art MuseumXi’An, China
2017 View of Wandering: Wandering. Scenery. Land, Art Basel Hong Kong,Hong Kong, China
2016 Beyond the Globe – 8th Triennial of Contemporary Art U3, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana, Slovenijia
Shanshui, a Manifesta - The Opening Exhibition of Gong Wang Museum, Hangzhou, China
Echo of Civilization: Crossing Dunhuang, The Imperial Palace Museum, Beijing, China
2015 China’s Magic Mountains: A New Vision, Hanart TZ Gallery, Abu Dhabi Art, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District, UAE
Magic Mountains, Hanart TZ Gallery, Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Be Inspired, LANDMARK, Hong Kong
2009 Open Vision - Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Art, National Museum of Czech, Prague
2008 Transforming Marks of Ink, Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden, Germany
2007 Nine Trees, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
2005 Century and Heaven, the 2nd Chengdu Biennale, Century City New International Convention & Exhibition Center, Chengdu, China
2004 The 2nd Contemporary Landscape Painting Invitation Exhibition, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2002 The 1st Contemporary Landscape Painting Invitation Exhibition, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China
1984 The 6th China National Art Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
