Victoria Cantons & Xu Yang – The Pursuit of Happiness

A two-person exhibition by London-based artists Victoria Cantons and Xu Yang exploring themes of happiness, fulfillment, and existential philosophy through painting and philosophical inquiry. About The Kravets Wehby Gallery is thrilled to announce a two-person exhibition titled The Pursuit of Happiness by London-based artists Victoria Cantons and Xu Yang. Please join us for the opening reception on Thursday, October 15 from 6-8pm. The artists, who are partners, will exhibit their work concurrently in the United States for the first time. The Pursuit of Happiness, a phrase most closely associated with the American ideal, provides a new context for their shared, lifelong quest for fulfillment. Although the themes explored in each of their work intersect, their respective practices remain distinct. Cantons' and Xu's methodologies converge in their philosophical, spiritual, and deeply sentimental approaches to existential quandaries: What does it mean to pursue happiness? What is happiness? Where can it be found? And if it is found, then what? Cantons, also a poet, incorporates meaningful messages into her paintings and titles, reflecting her evolving perspective. In Untitled (For the rest of ever), "Love is like the oar that takes us back to shore" is inscribed above an unbridled horse galloping along a waterfront. The phrase relates Cantons' admiration for horses and their untamed power to the tenacity required to live unabashedly. Her expressive technique embraces spontaneity, echoing a wild horse's freedom. Long associated with status and conquest in art history, Cantons evokes familiar works she has encountered countless times at the National Gallery, including George Stubbs' striking 1762 painting Whistlejacket. By rewording the questions she often asks herself, Cantons opens new possibilities for balancing hope and love with the unpredictability of life's fragile course. Cantons quotes Welsh poet Dylan Thomas: Do not go gentle into that good night, [...] Rage, rage against the dying of light. Xu's paintings are meticulously planned, and she uses them to examine multifaceted versions of femininity through opulent trompe-l'œil paintings inspired by European and Chinese art, mythology, poetry, Daoist philosophy, and Vanitas. Reclaiming the shame associated with figures such as Eve, Medusa, and Nüwa, she uses a combination of Chinese opera masks and traditional European masks, androgynous figures, and gestures drawn from royal portraiture to explore power, and social performance. Through these allegories, Xu reflects on spiritual happiness, absolute contentment, and the pursuit of eudaemonic well-being. In (Whether Zhou had a dream of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming they were Zhou?), Xu brings the ancient story of Zhuangzi's butterfly dream vividly into the present. After dreaming he was a butterfly, the philosopher questioned whether he was a man dreaming of becoming a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi. This philosophical paradox introduces the concept of wuhua—the mutual transformation of things, particularly between human beings and the natural world—and captures Xu's fascination with the fluid boundaries between identity, perception, and transformation. Victoria Cantons (b. 1969, London, UK) received her MFA at Slade School of Fine Art in 2021 and Turps Art School in 2018 and her BA at Wimbledon College of Arts in 2017. She has recently exhibited at Mimosa House, London, UK; Balazsi Gallery, Mallorca, ES; Kunstverein, Dresden, DE; Guts Gallery, London, UK; Flowers Gallery, London, UK; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona, USA; Hauser & Wirth, Somerset, UK; Wellcome Collection, London, UK; and The Atkinson Museum, Southport, UK. Xu Yang (b. 1996, Shandong, CN) received her MA from the Royal College of Art in 2020 and her BA in Fine Art at Wimbledon College of Arts in 2018. She has recently shown work at Château de Lantheuil, Normandy, FR, Berntson Bhattacharjee Gallery, London, UK; Mou Projects, Hong Kong, CN; Dio Horia, Athens, GR; Barbican Arts Group Trust, London, UK; Studio West, London, UK; National Portrait Gallery, London, UK; Tank Shanghai, Shanghai, CN; galerie lange + pult, Zürich, CH; Spurs Gallery, Beijing, CN; Guts Gallery, London, UK; Last Tango Art Association Zurich, Zurich, CH; Wellcome Collection, London, UK; Bertson Bhattacharjee Gallery, London, UK; Simon Lee gallery, London; 180 Strand, London; Hive Art Centre, Beijing, CN; Tree Museum, Beijing, CN; Saatchi Gallery, London, UK; and Josh Lilley, London, UK. Read more Toggle Painting