Le Xi: More Than a Picture

Written By le xi
MoMA photographed by artist Le Xi 奚乐.jpg

MoMA’s Collection: 1980s–Present exhibition

One unexpectedly powerful moment during my visit to MoMA’s Collection: 1980s–Present exhibition in July 2025 was seeing a work by Dana Claxton (b. 1958) included. She quietly rejects the tradition of easel painting and instead works with LED backlit photography, weaving together image, beadwork, and installation. Her work isn’t about capturing a frozen moment—it’s a visual intervention enacted through body and ritual, pulsing with the tension of cultural practice.

Dana Claxton’s LED lightbox artwork featuring beadwork and Indigenous imagery at MoMA’s “1980s–Present” exhibition.

Dana Claxton’s LED lightbox artwork featuring beadwork and Indigenous imagery at MoMA’s “1980s–Present” exhibition.

Dana Claxton’s LED lightbox artwork featuring beadwork and Indigenous imagery at MoMA’s “1980s–Present” exhibition.

le xi

Le Xi uses non-traditional materials working in two and three dimensions and animation film. His work suggests the struggle between the limitations of life and it limitless perception, dealing with such questions as what is the gap between the reality and the imagination. Born during China's Cultural Revolution and grew up in the period of contemporary Chinese history and globalization. As part of the contemporary Chinese art scene, He has appeared in group exhibitions in China. Since 2002 he lives in New York. He received his MFA in fine art from The School of Visual Arts in New York City. Since 2009 He has appeared in a group exhibition, “Mary’s Choice” curated by Mary Heilmann, 303 Gallery, New York. “Drawing itself: A Survey of Contemporary Practice”, Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Vernon New England. The fifty-fifth Venice Biennale Exhibition of art exhibition Chinese parallel, independent voice.

https://lexiart.org
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Le Xi Reflects on Richard Serra’s Equal at MoMA