About

The title of the show is taken from renowned Russian-American writer Vladimir Nabokov’s novel of the same name, which depicts the life - outwardly uneventful, but turbulent at its core - of a professional chess player. Like Nabokov’s hero, Cai Zebin conceals enormous amounts of meditation, artistic practice, and painterly detail within relatively simple creative forms. It is only through a steady, meticulous process of “decryption” that viewers can discover, and appreciate these details.

Chess pieces of every variety are scattered throughout the exhibition, serving as visual “clues.” Cleverly …