Xie TIAN
1971: Born in Cangnan County, extreme southeast of Zhejiang province, China
studies at Zhejiang Erqing School of Industrial Design
Graduated from the Chinese Academy of Arts
Master’s degree in architectural sustainability studies at the Bern University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland
1993: Creation of the Hangzhou Always Architecture Agency dedicated to the design of architectural spaces
2007: Director of the Guoyi City Design and Art Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Arts
2009: Becomes an Expert Member of the Decoration Design Committee of the Chinese Hotel Association.
2010: Becomes an Expert of the Evaluation Committee of the 2011 China Creative Design Competition.
2011: Director of Zhejiang Yaxia Design Research Institute.
Executive Director of Zhejiang Environmental Artists Association.
2015: Appointed Chairman of the Interior Design Industry Development Committee of Zhejiang Provincial Creative Design Association for a period of three years.
2021: Member of the Trend Committee of the 2021ICS International Conference on Color Design.
Member of the 2021G+AWARDS jury committee.
Executive Chairman of Interior Decoration Committee of China Building Materials Distribution Association.
Senior Special Art Advisor of Hangzhou Decoration Chamber of Commerce.
Dean of the National Institute of Art Design of the Chinese Academy of Arts and teacher
2016: creation of the main site of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou
Creation of the Minsheng Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai
2019: Creation of a work for the Chinese pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale
2021: Exhibits across 5 provinces and 10 cities in China, the “Disappearing Inks” series
2023: First exhibition in France at the Bastille Design Center with Nathalie Junod Ponsard. Curator: Marc Partouche.
XIE TIAN is a contemporary Chinese artist recognized for its ability to skilfully fuse traditional and modern elements. He doesn’t hesitate to mix calligraphy, ink and paper with digital ink, neon lights, Murano glass…
For him, art has an introspective value, giving him the keys to spiritual liberation: the place and future of the human being, the duality between tradition and our contemporary times. In Xie Tian’s work, which has evolved from designer to artist, the relationship between man and nature, man and society, lies at the heart of his inspirations and forms the link with creation and art. Xie Tian conceives his works as a narrative, sending a message, questioning the past and the future, to be looked at and read. Since his earliest creations, each of the artist’s works has carried a meaning.
Time is a recurring theme in Xie Tian’s art. He seeks to demonstrate that our performance-based lives move too fast, that we no longer take the time to settle down, understand, reflect, meditate or cultivate ourselves. For the artist, it’s urgent to slow down. His works echo his reflections on time and our own longevity. He likes to draw a parallel between our human temporalities, dictated by political and economic stakes in terms of ecology, and the temporality of the matrix earth, which will not wait for our calendar to die. For example, the artist uses the ravioli, a symbol of nourishment, to denounce the way in which mankind is destroying the earth. With her stacks of white, hand-crafted ceramic dishes, the artist questions the relationship between food and the purity of spiritual rituals. In “The Burning of Notre-Dame de Paris”, a huge canvas painted in Indian ink, Xie Tian draws on the past to rediscover the history of this fascinating edifice and to write it into her work.
Ever since he “wanted to make art! Xie Tian is bulimic in his productions, motivated by the need for a temporal syncretism that draws a straight line between past, present and future. Thanks to his way of thinking, which integrates ancient and modern and is concerned with the future of humanity, Xie Tian’s art seeks to bring about harmony between man and nature, uniting like yin and yang, the realms of earth and sky as imagined by one of the great Taoist thinkers Zhuangzi.
Récolter ce qu’on a semé, 2023
Ceramic Dumplings
Awards and distinctions
- 2006: “Golden Bund” Award for innovation in architecture and interior design, China (Shanghai)
- 2007: “Contribution to the Art of Design” Award, Third China International Design Art Observation Exhibition (Shenzhen).
- 2008: Asia Pacific Space Designer Association Award (Singapore).
China International Architecture and Interior Design “Golden Bund” Award (Shanghai).
China Interior Design Grand Prix Commercial Engineering First Prize” (Zhengzhou).
“2008 China Top Ten Designers Award, Guangzhou Design Week (Guangzhou). - 2010: “Person of the Year Award” China TOP10 Office Space Lighting Application Design competition (Shanghai).
Golden Bund” prize for best public space awarded by China International Architecture and Interior Design (Shanghai).
Ten Most Influential Designers of the Year Award” at China International Design and Art Expo. - 2011: “Ten Most Influential Designers Award 2010-2011” (Beijing) and “2010
- 2011 International Environmental Art Innovation Award for Hotel Design” (Beijing).
“Phoenix Award” for the most influential person in the decoration industry (Hangzhou). - 2012: First prize at the Lighting Weekly Cup.
Zhejiang Province People’s Grand Prize for 20 years’ contribution to the architectural decoration industry.
Award of Excellence from the Third China International Art Design Competition. - 2014: American Interior Design Chinese Edition Annual Cover Character Award.
The China Building Decoration Association awarded him the title of “2014 China Designer of the Year.”
China Interior Design Annual Edition Cover Character. - 2016: “Gold Award” of the China Decoration Design Award (CBDA Design Award).
- 2017: Modern Attitude Style Award as part of the Modern Shanghai Fashion Home exhibition.
- 2020: his design for Shanghai’s Ming Sheng Museum of Modern Art won the “Gold Award” in the category of cultural buildings and national building renovation projects.
- 2021 : 2020 Award for Best Living Space.