As a student, Beijing-based painter Liu Xiaodong traveled in the historically important region of Shaanbei, China; three decades later, his new body of work at Lisson Gallery considers changes not only in the area but in Chinese culture. Several large canvases feature youth in their free time, playing in the river, drinking beer or making as if to fight while their friends look on in amusement. Wearing counterfeit designs and clutching their phones, the youth are more connected to the bustling city behind them than nature or the monuments dotting the surrounding hills. Prominently pictured behind the youth, the ancient Yan’an Pagoda (associated with the Communist Party for its time headquartered in the area) has been supplanted in prominence by the city’s new towers. (On view in Chelsea through June 10th).
