Cub_ism_ Artspace presents Li Changpeng's first solo exhibition "Night Night" from June 7 to July 19. The exhibition features over ten small-scale paintings created by the artist between 2023 and 2025. The phrase "Night Night" serves as a full stop to the day’s end and marks the beginning of solitary nighttime introspection. Each narrative unfolds as night falls, capturing the process of information consumption through rapid scrolling and browsing on digital platforms. In this exhibition, the artist meticulously processes fragmented images captured by the eye, reshaping the viewer’s rhythm of observation.
“The images I choose often bear the characteristics of flashbulb memory—not because they are extraordinary, but because they were once illuminated by emotion. I preserve these fragments without narration or explanation, allowing them to endure on canvas.”
The magnified images in these works evoke moments seized by the human gaze: "bouquets showing only their tails," "a heart being sliced on a plate," "infinitely enlargedclock dials," and other mundane scenes. Beyond electronic screens, the artist immortalizes these vignettes on canvas with a film-like texture."I use image fragments not to reconstruct events, but to preserve the points that trigger visceral responses. Completeness is irrelevant—what matters is whether the image can be reactivated in a given moment." Like a manipulator of time and space, Li transforms his works into new linguistic signifiers, achieving a profound vertical extension of perception that invites viewers to reconsider familiar imagery.
Employing a monochromatic palette of muted mauve blended with black, the works exist in perpetual twilight. Their consistent dimensions resemble artist-processed "frames," subverting the habitual streaming-media viewing experience confined to small phone screens. Instead, viewers engage through slow movement along the gallery’s white walls. Here, the artist extends his signified from the pictorial space into the physical realm. Ash-black carpets demarcate an immersive zone, while sequins scattered across the floor retain the lingering warmth of celebration—yet carry a subtle loneliness, an afterglow of joy’s departure.
The images’ meanings transcend their origins. As planes of expression and content shift, viewers inevitably generate new interpretations upon engagement. While Roland Barthes usedanchorage to explainimage-centricity, the artist’s work introduces fresh perspectives and possibilities, launching a dialectical exploration of signs and language.
Text by Wang Haoyang
