...Qiu Ruixiang makes great use of what at first is read as black pigment, but is, in fact, one or other of the deepest hue of brown, purple, blue or green. These dark tones are used to create a sense of darkness from which his subjects emerge as if into daylight from the lightless realm of night or from an unlit interior, with all the accompanying disorientation that is momentarily experienced before the senses normalize for their eyes are almost always closed. There is, too, an echo of Rembrandt in the obsessive self-portraiture Qiu Ruixiang produces, in evidence now for more than a decade. Finally, the childlike structure of his figures and the rendering of their features add to the mix a flavor of Outsider Art - described as art created outside the boundaries of official culture by artists who have little contact with the mainstream art world, which a fairly precise description of Qiu Ruixiang’s art and his own relation to the art world in China. But the disparity between all the references to other artists and established genres here, none of which have any direct relation to Qiu Ruixiang’s painting at all, only illustrates the fact that his work is typical of the artistic language of many individual artists in that it resists easy categorization....

...Standing in front of a painting, you feel as off kilter as his subjects; as anxious and afeared. Qiu Ruixiang’s art has a unique existence in a particular place which is perhaps not the ultimate core of the contemporary yet, for all that, the works are no less relevant to society today....

——《About Painting》Karen Smith

Artist Statement:

Painting is important to me. Even though innumerable masterpieces already exist, to the extent that everything seems to have been done before, still painting is important. In a general way, it affects but subtle impact on life, but it is still important. Especially in my personal life. The differences in style and form may be minor, but they have their meaning, even though their impact on individual lives may be minimal. For me, painting comes closest to the state of my inner world. Perhaps it has no significant value, but the significance it holds for me is that it leads me back to myself. 

——Qiu Ruixian