Wang Keping: Érotique

Galerie Nathalie Obadia presents Érotique in Paris, a solo exhibition by Wang Keping. Spanning nearly four decades of practice, the exhibition focuses on a recurring theme in his work: the representation of the body and desire as expressions of personal freedom. The exhibition features sculptures in wood, bronze and Corten steel. The wooden works use a wide range of species, including yew, cherry, ash, acacia, cedar, cypress, holm oak, maple, chestnut, elm, walnut, beech, plane and parasol tree. Sourced from French forests, these materials highlight Wang Keping’s attention to the individual characteristics of each type of wood, including its grain, density, colour and natural variations.

Across the works, recurring motifs take different forms. Couples embrace, wings unfold, and bodies, backs, breasts, buttocks and other forms curve, rise and merge. In some sculptures, the forms are closely integrated, making individual elements difficult to distinguish. The exhibition’s focus on the body and eroticism is also connected to Wang Keping’s personal and political background and his experience of growing up in a society where bodies and personal desires were subject to social and political control.