Art and friendship frame everyday happiness

Tucked within the lively Qianmen district, Fayuan Architecture Museum offers an unexpected calm. Its centuries-old courtyard, now carefully restored, houses an evocative display of wooden components drawn from classical Chinese architecture across the country. The space bridges past and present — a fitting setting for an exhibition grounded in both memory and imagination.

Recently, one of its rooms has been transformed by Envisioning Everyday Joy, a joint exhibition born out of long-standing friendship. The show brings together drawings and digital works by two artists whose practices differ in method but converge in spirit. Their collaboration reflects not only their professional backgrounds but also a shared inclination toward observing and elevating the quiet rhythms of daily life.

For Xie Xiaofan, a former art school and museum administrator, retirement has opened a new chapter devoted to painting. Unbound by convention, his work follows instinct and personal expression, valuing sincerity over form. His longtime friend Qi Xin, a seasoned architect, approaches the collaboration differently, using artificial intelligence to reinterpret Xie's inner world. Through playful animated videos, he creates an imaginative counterpart to Xie's paintings — not a translation, but a dialogue between mediums.

The exhibition is curated by scholar and curator Tang Keyang, with Zhu Xiaodi, also a noted architect, as the artistic director. Zhu says it is "rooted in years of mutual understanding, while also representing a conscious attempt to move beyond conventional artistic frameworks".

Celebrated scholar and friend Zhu Qingsheng says that the times have changed completely: "As long as images exist, people can build their own worlds — and, in doing so, create their own happiness."