What chemistry would be created between contemporary art and guqin, the Chinese zither of over 3,000 years old? One can find that unique feeling at Wang Xiyao's solo exhibition, Liang Xiao Yin, now on at Tang Contemporary Art's Beijing first space and curated by Larys Frogier.

The variety of tones and irregular rhythms of guqin deliver a serene and celestial atmosphere which brings its player and listeners to a spiritual state higher and distant. Playing guqin used to be an approach by elite scholars in ancient times to enrich life, cultivate character, learn the rules of the world, and connect with the cosmo. Today it is still being played by people as a way to calm and sooth themselves.

The exhibition title is borrowed from a guqin piece Liangxiao Yin (Prelude to a Fairly Evening), which Wang says has been her favorite of all the pieces she has learned. Some of her latest works on show were made when she learned to master Liangxiao Yin. The twists and turns, ups and downs of the melody, as well as the many feelings she was inspired by, motivated her to draw lines and layer colors.

The current exhibition puts together her most recent Liang Xiao Yin series with previous works to show the evolution of her approach to painting, and the changes in her life attitude and mindset when creating. And it also shows her longtime pursuit of achieving a carefree, natural state bounded by no limitations. The exhibition will end on Jan 28.