Xie Fan 谢帆 is a Chinese painter living and working in Chengdu, China. Since receiving his BFA from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (SFAI) in 2005, Xie has actively presented his artwork in China and Europe. His unconventional approaches to materiality in painting are well established and widely recognised.

Xie's artwork is rooted in the exploration of permeation, the way colour seeps into and bonds with its ground. His early silk paintings investigated translucency and absorption, while his more recent engagement with terracotta highlights the porous, earthen qualities of the material. By layering mineral pigments and oxides onto raw clay before firing, he allows high kiln temperatures to trigger unpredictable chemical reactions, embedding a sense of chance and transformation into each piece. This process recalls both the alchemical nature of ceramics and the historical intersections between painting and sculpture.

Through these material investigations, Xie challenges conventional notions of painting, expanding its boundaries beyond the canvas into the realms of objecthood and spatial experience. His works respond to shifts in light, atmosphere, and touch, emphasizing their impermanence and connection to the natural world. By bridging tradition and experimentation, Xie creates a practice that is at once deeply rooted in history and radically open to the contingencies of the present.

In recent years, Xie has held numerous critically acclaimed solo exhibitions internationally, including at Bangkok Kunsthalle in Thailand; Le Consortium & Académie Conti in Dijon, France; Galerie Marguo in Paris, France; Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing, China; and WHITE SPACE in Beijing, China. He has also participated in group exhibitions at Blunt Society in Shanghai and Wind H Art Center in Beijing, China; Gowolhun in Seoul, South Korea; and the Moscow Biennale in Moscow, Russia.