The prestigious von Goetz gallery will present “Forget Me Not,” a solo exhibition by Chinese-born artist Xu Yang at the historic Château de Lantheuil in Normandy, France.
Running from June 12 to July 10, 2025, this exhibition represents a significant cultural exchange where East meets West, the contemporary engages with the classical, and personal memory intertwines with collective heritage.
A Cultural Tapestry Woven Through Art
Born in Shandong Province, China, in 1996, Xu Yang has rapidly emerged as one of the most intriguing voices in the contemporary art world.
After relocating to London in 2015, she has developed a distinctive visual language that bridges her Chinese heritage with European artistic traditions, particularly focusing on the ornate aesthetics of the Rococo period.
For this landmark exhibition, Xu will develop an entirely new body of work specifically designed to dialogue with the Château’s rich architectural and historical context. The exhibition will span multiple rooms of the Louis XIII landmark, creating an immersive journey through interconnected themes of cultural memory, legacy, and the passage of time.
“In something as intimate as the fingerprints of my mother on a sealed dumpling, I see an entire family and community. In something as delicate as the blue petals of a forget-me-not, I see the precariousness of time. And in something as enduring as gold, I see the power of legacy,” Xu recently shared, offering insight into the symbolic richness of her work.
Symbolic Narratives and Cultural Fusion
Xu Yang’s paintings and sculptures are characterized by their narrative complexity and sumptuous visual qualities. Her work frequently features an evocative array of motifs—flowers, insects, animals, dumplings, wigs, frames, gold, and porcelain—each carrying layers of meaning that bridge personal memory and cultural symbolism.
What makes Xu’s artistic approach particularly compelling is how she weaves together seemingly disparate elements into cohesive visual poems. Her reimagined still-life paintings offer viewers an intricate collection of symbols and narrative clues that invite contemplation about the nature of cultural identity and legacy in our increasingly globalized world.
The exhibition title, “Forget Me Not,” references both the delicate blue flower known for its symbolic association with remembrance and the exhibition’s underlying exploration of how cultural memories persist, transform, and sometimes fade across generations and geographical boundaries.
A Historical Setting with Its Own Narrative
The choice of Château de Lantheuil as the exhibition venue adds profound resonance to Xu’s work. Built in 1613 in the Louis XIII architectural style, this magnificent estate has been home to the Marquis Turgot family since the 17th century and houses an impressive collection of interior decorations spanning from the Louis XV period to Napoleon III.
The château itself represents a living archive of French history. Located in Normandy’s picturesque Bessin region, halfway between Caen and Bayeux, the estate features formal French gardens, 300-year-old beech trees, and interiors that bear witness to significant historical events—including serving as a strategic planning location during WWII, when Montgomery reportedly used the dining room table to plan the Battle for Caen in 1944.
This rich historical backdrop provides a compelling context for Xu’s exploration of memory and legacy. The juxtaposition of her contemporary interpretations against the château’s collection of portraiture and family heirlooms creates a dialogue across centuries, inviting visitors to consider how cultural narratives are preserved, reinterpreted, and renewed.
Curatorial Vision and Gallery Legacy
The exhibition has been curated by Lucy von Goetz, Director of von Goetz Gallery, who has established a reputation for presenting exceptional contemporary artists in unique settings around the world.
“We are beyond excited to bring the exceptional work of Xu Yang to Lantheuil for her solo exhibition. Xu’s refined visual language, which merges the East and the West, the historic and the contemporary, the earthly and the surreal, is set to engage audiences in a dialogue with the castle’s storied past and its family art collection. This exhibition sets out our commitment to showcasing the finest artists whose work resonates with the time and setting they inhabit,” von Goetz explained.
Founded in 2017 in a warehouse in Brixton, London, von Goetz has evolved from its initial focus on London-based curatorial projects to a global platform that connects contemporary artistic practices with historically and culturally significant spaces. Now based in Battersea, London, the gallery continues to expand its international presence while maintaining its commitment to curatorial excellence.
An Artist on the Rise
Despite her relative youth, Xu Yang has already garnered significant recognition in the art world. Her institutional presence includes participation in “The Cult of Beauty” at London’s Wellcome Collection in 2023.
Her educational background combines studies at Wimbledon College of Arts (UAL), where she focused on Fine Art Painting from 2015-2018, followed by an MA in Painting from the prestigious Royal College of Art, completed in 2020. This formal training has provided her with a solid technical foundation while allowing her to develop her distinctive visual vocabulary.
Recent solo exhibitions highlight her growing international presence, including “Daughter, Sister, Mother, Monster” at Berntson Bhattacharjee in London (2024), “Imagine Yourself a Warrior” at Mou Projects in Hong Kong (2023), and “Therefore I am” at Dio Horia in Athens (2022). Additionally, her work has been shown at several renowned galleries, including Simon Lee Gallery, Josh Lilley Gallery, and Saatchi Gallery.
Xu’s accolades include winning the Barbican Arts Group Trust ArtWorks Open in 2019 and being shortlisted for the Contemporary Young Artist Prize in 2020, further cementing her position as an artist of notable promise.
Cultural Dialogue in a Historic Setting
What makes “Forget Me Not” particularly significant is how it embodies a meaningful cultural dialogue between East and West, tradition and innovation. By placing Xu’s work—with its integration of Chinese cultural references and European artistic influences—within the context of a historic French château, the exhibition creates a multi-layered conversation about cultural exchange and preservation.
The Château de Lantheuil itself represents a cultural continuity, with the descendants of the Turgot family still residing there today. Eugenia Durandy de Naurois-Turgot, who directs the arts and culture programme at the family home, continues a tradition of cultural patronage that stretches back centuries.
This connection between past and present, between Eastern and Western artistic traditions, creates a rich contextual framework for experiencing Xu’s work. Her paintings, with their blending of old master techniques and contemporary sensibilities, find a natural resonance within the château’s historically significant interiors.
A Unique Visitor Experience
For visitors to “Forget Me Not,” the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience contemporary art in a setting of exceptional historical significance. The daily opening hours from 14:30 to 18:30 allow guests to explore the intersection of art and architecture, personal memory and collective history, in the golden afternoon light that bathes the château’s interiors.
A catalogue will accompany the exhibition, featuring an essay by Lucy von Goetz that provides deeper context for understanding the conceptual frameworks and cultural references that inform Xu’s practice. This publication will serve as both a document of the exhibition and a resource for appreciating the complexities of Xu’s visual language.
The exhibition has been made possible through the personal permission of the Turgot family, highlighting the continuation of a centuries-old tradition of artistic patronage and cultural exchange that has long characterized European estates of such historical significance.
Legacy and Memory in Contemporary Context
At its core, “Forget Me Not” invites reflection on what cultural legacy means in our rapidly changing world. Through Xu Yang’s evocative imagery and the richly layered historical context of Château de Lantheuil, viewers are encouraged to consider how cultural memories are preserved, transmitted, and transformed across generations.
In a global context where cultural identities are increasingly fluid and interconnected, Xu’s work offers a thoughtful meditation on how we might honor and maintain our cultural heritages while remaining open to new influences and interpretations. Her paintings—with their fusion of Chinese motifs and European stylistic references—embody this productive cultural dialogue.
The exhibition thus represents not just a showcase of exceptional contemporary art but a meaningful contribution to ongoing conversations about cultural preservation, exchange, and renewal in our increasingly globalized world. Through the delicate imagery of the forget-me-not flower, Xu reminds us of both the fragility and the persistence of cultural memory—the ways in which traditions may fade but never completely disappear, continuing to influence and inform our present and future.
As visitors move through the historic rooms of Château de Lantheuil, engaging with Xu’s contemporary interpretations alongside centuries of European artistic heritage, they participate in this ongoing dialogue between past and present, East and West, tradition and innovation—a dialogue that promises to yield new insights into our shared cultural landscape.
For those seeking to experience this unique cultural event, the exhibition will be open daily from June 12 through July 10, 2025. Additional information about planning a visit can be found at www.vongoetz.uk, where details about the accompanying catalogue will also be available.
Photo credits:
1. Detail of artwork by Xu Yang, courtesy of the artist and von Goetz
2. Portrait of Lucy von Goetz by Ryan Bater & Joshua Street
3. Portrait of Xu Yang by Ryan Bater & Joshua Street
4. Interior Château de Lantheuil, courtesy of Eugenia Durandy de Naurois-Turgot
https://www.salonprivemag.com/xu-yang-brings-cultural-dialogue-to-chateau-de-lantheuil/
