Mason Hunt + Xiangjie Rebecca Wu

Exhibition Dates: November 14 - December 21, 2024

Opening Reception: Thursday, November 14th @ 6PM-8PM

39 White Street, Tribeca

1969 Gallery is pleased to present the recent paintings of Xiangjie Rebecca Wu. In this body of work, Wu examines how memory and identity intertwine with the spaces we occupy. Drawing from her childhood in a village along the Yangtze River in China, the objects and figures in her work evoke a nostalgic intimacy, shaped by the complexities of belonging to a place while longing to move beyond it. Wu’s compositions generate the introspective nature of still life and the narrative potential of portraiture, bridging personal memory with universal human experiences. Each work invites viewers into a slow gaze, alluding to the same contemplative ethos found in classical and modernist painting.

Rather than simply depicting the past, Wu allows memories to linger–revealing a sense of longing which associates identity with the spaces of her childhood, ultimately materializing the need to address personal themes of love, loss, and the search for meaning in the landscapes of memory. Her practice honors the lasting significance of painting as a medium for exploring the complexities of migration, providing a deep reflection on how the spaces we once occupied and the memories we have shape our identities.

Xiangjie Rebecca Wu (b. 1998. Jiangyin, Jiangsu, China) is an artist based in Brooklyn. Her figurative painting draws from her personal memory and daily experience. By visualizing and memorializing the lost time and land, her painting evokes contemplation on the intricate relationship between memory, selfhood, loss, and the palpable fear of insecurity that permeates our existence. She received a B.A. with a double major in Studio Art and Philosophy at the College of Wooster in 2022. Her works were collected by the College of Wooster Art Museum in 2022. She graduated from Pratt Institute with an MFA degree in 2024. Her work has been shown in Marvin Garden, NY; Cinema Supply, NY; and Art021, SH.


Mason Hunt was born in 2000 in San Francisco, California, and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. He received a BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI (2024), where he studied sculpture and art history. He has participated in group shows at the Flatiron Project Space at SVA in New York, NY, the RISD Museum in Providence, RI, List Art Center at Brown University in Providence, RI, the Oxbow School in Napa, CA, and elsewhere. Hunt has also curated an exhibition at the RISD Museum Gelman Gallery in 2024, and been featured in both The New York Times, and The College Hill Independent.

For Inquiries, please contact
Alexander Browngardt | e: alex@1969gallery.com

About 1969 Gallery

Founded in September 2016, 1969 is a contemporary art gallery in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. Through solo / group / external exhibitions and art fair presentations, the Gallery has cultivated the careers of its represented artists and a broader community of artists primarily devoted to painting.

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