1987－1988

Medium: woodblock print

Dimensions: 22 x 28.5 in. per print

Edition: 50

From 1986 to 1987, Xu became intrigued with the concept of the print as an "indirect" painting, and its special quality of "multiplicity." Five Series of Repetitions, which he started in 1986, took multiplicity as its conceptual starting point. Xu releasd this work, along with the copperplate print Stone Series. Slightly later the same year, he gathered his thoughts and creative experiences on printing in the article "New Explorations and re-recognition of Multiplicitous Painting."

Xu wrote: "Multiple, standardized copies are the key characteristic that sets printing apart from other forms of painting. Only by following this thread can one discover the unique qualities of print art." In his essay, he analyzed Western contemporary art, critiquing, for example, Andy Warhol(1928-1987) and expressing the opinion that "printing has a more intimate, direct relationship with modern art than other categories of painting." Especially when cosidering its "replicability," printing is actucally "a form filled with a modern-feeling cadence."