HONG KONG.- Ora-Ora announced that the artwork The Quiet Deers in the Cold Forest 《寒林幽鹿》by Beijing-based artist Xiao Xu has been acquired by M+ and will form part of the museum’s permanent collection.

Executed in 2010, the ink on paper work is an outstanding example from Xiao Xu's pivotal early period, achieving his signature luminous obscurity through an expert bridging of expression and precision. The painting depicts deer stepping softly through a silvery thicket. What begins as a forest meditation becomes a contemporary parable of perception, where every controlled brushstroke and deliberate void speaks to the fragility of presence. The deer’s averted gaze, simultaneously observed and observing, speaks to the human condition. In the words of Xiao Xu: “We cannot help but think about our own predicament, lost with nowhere to turn, struggling to push forward between survival and death.”

CEO and Co-founder of Ora-Ora, Dr. Henrietta Tsui-Leung said, “The addition of The Quiet Deers in the Cold Forest to the M+ Collection confirms Xiao Xu’s role at the vanguard of ink’s unstoppable, dynamic evolution.”

Born in Chongqing (1983) and educated at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (MFA 2010), Xiao Xu explores collective memory through ink, deconstructing classical paradigms via experimental brushwork and cross-cultural narratives.

Xiao Xu’s paintings harness the media (brush, ink and paper) of classical times, much of its language (rocks, mist, water) but with an atmosphere of mystery, dream, fantasy, driven by dark shades, the roaming of unexpected creatures and the occasional juxtaposition of modern components.

Ora-Ora has represented the artist since 2014, presenting solo exhibitions Streams of Eventide (2018) and The Resounding Chasm (2023), as well as seven years of participation at Art Basel Hong Kong.