Lehmann Maupin is pleased to present Points of Departure, a group exhibition featuring paintings by Gao Ludi, Lu Song, and Xie Nanxing. These three Chinese artists offer 21st century versions of the appropriation-based processes pioneered by American artists during the 1980s. Points of Departure brings these artists together in order to consider the evolution of painting and its complex relationship with source imagery.

The use of found images and ephemera has radically changed in the decades since postmodernism when artists incorporated found imagery into their work to make commentary on commercial culture. Today, the Internet provides immediate accessibility to trillions of images, offering innumerable options for artists to reference, copy, or alter. More than any other moment in history, artists are using sourced imagery to offer topical commentary and expand the boundaries and language of painting. Points of Departure exemplifies the variety of ways artists have and are using imagery drawn from pop culture and popular media.