Xu Lei is a leading contemporary Chinese artist whose work will be presented at the Chinese Pavilion at the upcoming Venice Biennale in late April. By introducing elements from Western history and art, plus modern culture to traditional Chinese ink paintings, he gives his works a modern context and turns traditional aesthetics into something new. At the same time, he also uses installations, videos and other creative media to extend his work and advocates for the transformation of traditional Chinese cultural principles into contemporary visual cognition. The artist's latest exhibition "Correspondences" at Beijing's Nanchizi Art Museum highlights the recurring concepts presented in his works.