Whispers LI Jian Solo Exhibition （Line Gallery · Beijing) 2021.09.05 - 10.11 PREFACE WORKS SCENE TEXT	□ Whispers and Monologues: Paintings by Li Jian By Wei Xiangqi (Associate Researcher and Curator, National Art Museum of China) In recent years, most of Li Jian 's works are depicting animals, including apes, tigers, deer and others which would fall into the category of birds and animals of the traditional Chinese painting. But it is clear that he does not plan to cultivate the traditional Chinese pictorial spectrum in depth, but rather to explore a new territory of his own. Although Li Jian 's paintings are still associated with Chinese painting and concepts such as "new ink " and "neo-gongbi, " he has long consciously avoided these established pictorial resources, aware of the danger of falling into the conceptual and pictorial dilemmas. Therefore, he started from the system of bird-and-flower painting and stripped the images of animals from the visual structure of flowers, plants, trees and rocks. Animal themes have been extremely important in the history of both Chinese and foreign art, whether it be the clam sculptures of dragons and tigers in ancient Chinese tombs, or the stone animals lining the sacred paths of tombs, or the Sphinx figures in the palaces and temples of the civilizations in the two rivers region of Western Asia, where animals were often seen as the embodiment of gods in very ancient belief systems. As a result, many images of humans and animals can be found in different cultural areas at different times. The animals in Li Jian 's paintings, especially the apes, are anthropomorphic, but he does not portray them as "immortal " beings, but focuses more on their faces and bodies, as well as the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness in their eyes. Li Jian believes that these animal figures are a manifestation of his own state of being, and that through the bodies of the animals, Li Jian presents a suppressed "performing state " of himself. In other words, in the process of “embodiment” as an animal, Li Jian demonstrates his spiritual freedom to display and express himself courageously. The Northern Song Dynasty literary scholar Su Shi wrote "to be transformed into a crane and ascend to immortality " in his First Visit to the Red Cliff, suggesting that a person who has attained the Way can transform into a crane and soar freely between heaven and earth. Perhaps it is the state of mind of "wandering freely " that allows Li Jian to go deeper into the creation of animal themes and create his own independent look. The animals in Li Jian 's paintings are not imitations of their natural forms, so painting from life is not their source. Chinese paintings of birds and animals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were influenced by the concept of "natural science painting " and expanded considerably in terms of the types of birds and animals but were basically confined in the realm of realistic painting. The simplicity of Li Jian 's paintings seems to be distantly related to the styles of modeling in the two Han dynasties (202 B.C.-220). Of course, with the modeling of animals which take a much larger part in the broader folk-art scene, Li Jian apparently has mastered the way how this modeling system has been generated. Moreover, his imagery sources also include classic works from the history of Western art. If we look more closely, we will realize that some of Li Jian 's paintings are familiar. For example, in works such as Walking and Thinker, we can clearly identify the influence of Masaccio Masolino 's Expulsion from the Garden of Eden and Auguste Rodin 's The Thinker. It is precisely because of his ability to achieve mastery through comprehensive study that Li Jian has never strayed from the main path in terms of the modeling and artistic interest of animal paintings. In other words, in Li Jian 's creative consciousness, man and animal are isomorphic, and he places the man (himself) in the body of the animal, so that his animal paintings have equal value to his figurative paintings, or portraits. Li Jian replaces his observations of people, or his examination of self, with images of animals, mainly because of his avoidance of the real world, a visual form of self-concealment. Li Jian is more concerned with discovering the playfulness of the images, which is much in evidence in "Novice ", where the three faces have a quizzical expression that reflects the visual characteristics of surrealist art. In the ape-themed paintings, Li Jian created a sense of space, with the hairs of the ape varying in reality and intensity, so that the viewer has the impression that the ape is in a fog. In his exploration of space, Li Jian minimizes it as much as possible. Except for a fifth to a third of the lower part of the painting, which is rendered with light ink or color to create a "ground " or "tabletop " because of the composition, most of the image is painted without a specific background. This has enhanced the surrealism of his images. With regard to composition, Li Jian always follows the principle of echoing and embracing each other, which means that the "qi " should remain in the picture and not be dispersed. As a result, we can feel a patterned balance of forces in Li Jian 's paintings. In a sense, Li Jian 's animal paintings of this period have a strong tendency toward "stylistic " art, as he exaggerates the forms and twisting postures of the animals, which are extremely dramatic and allegorical. The twining movement in The Entangled White Rabbit and Wrestling, and the twisting posture in Embrace, Deer and Sitting Tiger are intriguing. In addition to animal figures, Li Jian also focuses on several “smart” images. The online cultural phenomenon under the influence of “smart” youth has received constant academic attention in recent years. Their bizarre outfits, especially their colorful hairstyles and heavy makeup, represent an aesthetic interest at odds with the norms of life. It can be argued that the "smart " culture is a marginal subculture in modern urban life, like "the weeds in the grassroots culture " mocked by people. Li Jian portrays these figures because he is concerned about the alienated state of life of these “smart” groups, and shows a kind of instinctive empathy. Just as he embodies himself into his animal paintings, he feels a similar touch with the “smart” youth. Looking closely at these “smart” figures, you can see their wounded faces, timid and shy gazes in silence. Undoubtedly, the “smart” images convey an unspeakable part in Li Jian 's animal paintings. He puts himself in the “smart” images, to acknowledges the social and cultural identity on the subconscious level. The subject matter that artists focus on and express is a reflection of their worldview. Li Jian 's art reveals his independence and the way he observes the world. He prefers to use an ancient cultural and intellectual experience to express his thoughts. These paintings are a monologue of his inner world, a reflection of the way he relates to the real world. He dresses himself up as an animal, as if he would get a purer heart under the protection of the fur. Facing the direct inquiry about humans by contemporary art, Li Jian lives in a more inward-looking world. At Shanglong Xili, Beijing in August 2021

Whispers
LI Jian Solo Exhibition （Line Gallery · Beijing)
2021.09.05 - 10.11

□ Whispers and Monologues: Paintings by Li Jian

By Wei Xiangqi (Associate Researcher and Curator, National Art Museum of China)

In recent years, most of Li Jian 's works are depicting animals, including apes, tigers, deer and others which would fall into the category of birds and animals of the traditional Chinese painting. But it is clear that he does not plan to cultivate the traditional Chinese pictorial spectrum in depth, but rather to explore a new territory of his own. Although Li Jian 's paintings are still associated with Chinese painting and concepts such as "new ink " and "neo-gongbi, " he has long consciously avoided these established pictorial resources, aware of the danger of falling into the conceptual and pictorial dilemmas. Therefore, he started from the system of bird-and-flower painting and stripped the images of animals from the visual structure of flowers, plants, trees and rocks.

Animal themes have been extremely important in the history of both Chinese and foreign art, whether it be the clam sculptures of dragons and tigers in ancient Chinese tombs, or the stone animals lining the sacred paths of tombs, or the Sphinx figures in the palaces and temples of the civilizations in the two rivers region of Western Asia, where animals were often seen as the embodiment of gods in very ancient belief systems. As a result, many images of humans and animals can be found in different cultural areas at different times. The animals in Li Jian 's paintings, especially the apes, are anthropomorphic, but he does not portray them as "immortal " beings, but focuses more on their faces and bodies, as well as the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness in their eyes. Li Jian believes that these animal figures are a manifestation of his own state of being, and that through the bodies of the animals, Li Jian presents a suppressed "performing state " of himself. In other words, in the process of “embodiment” as an animal, Li Jian demonstrates his spiritual freedom to display and express himself courageously. The Northern Song Dynasty literary scholar Su Shi wrote "to be transformed into a crane and ascend to immortality " in his First Visit to the Red Cliff, suggesting that a person who has attained the Way can transform into a crane and soar freely between heaven and earth. Perhaps it is the state of mind of "wandering freely " that allows Li Jian to go deeper into the creation of animal themes and create his own independent look.

The animals in Li Jian 's paintings are not imitations of their natural forms, so painting from life is not their source. Chinese paintings of birds and animals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were influenced by the concept of "natural science painting " and expanded considerably in terms of the types of birds and animals but were basically confined in the realm of realistic painting. The simplicity of Li Jian 's paintings seems to be distantly related to the styles of modeling in the two Han dynasties (202 B.C.-220). Of course, with the modeling of animals which take a much larger part in the broader folk-art scene, Li Jian apparently has mastered the way how this modeling system has been generated. Moreover, his imagery sources also include classic works from the history of Western art. If we look more closely, we will realize that some of Li Jian 's paintings are familiar. For example, in works such as Walking and Thinker, we can clearly identify the influence of Masaccio Masolino 's Expulsion from the Garden of Eden and Auguste Rodin 's The Thinker. It is precisely because of his ability to achieve mastery through comprehensive study that Li Jian has never strayed from the main path in terms of the modeling and artistic interest of animal paintings. In other words, in Li Jian 's creative consciousness, man and animal are isomorphic, and he places the man (himself) in the body of the animal, so that his animal paintings have equal value to his figurative paintings, or portraits.

Li Jian replaces his observations of people, or his examination of self, with images of animals, mainly because of his avoidance of the real world, a visual form of self-concealment. Li Jian is more concerned with discovering the playfulness of the images, which is much in evidence in "Novice ", where the three faces have a quizzical expression that reflects the visual characteristics of surrealist art. In the ape-themed paintings, Li Jian created a sense of space, with the hairs of the ape varying in reality and intensity, so that the viewer has the impression that the ape is in a fog. In his exploration of space, Li Jian minimizes it as much as possible. Except for a fifth to a third of the lower part of the painting, which is rendered with light ink or color to create a "ground " or "tabletop " because of the composition, most of the image is painted without a specific background. This has enhanced the surrealism of his images. With regard to composition, Li Jian always follows the principle of echoing and embracing each other, which means that the "qi " should remain in the picture and not be dispersed. As a result, we can feel a patterned balance of forces in Li Jian 's paintings. In a sense, Li Jian 's animal paintings of this period have a strong tendency toward "stylistic " art, as he exaggerates the forms and twisting postures of the animals, which are extremely dramatic and allegorical. The twining movement in The Entangled White Rabbit and Wrestling, and the twisting posture in Embrace, Deer and Sitting Tiger are intriguing.

In addition to animal figures, Li Jian also focuses on several “smart” images. The online cultural phenomenon under the influence of “smart” youth has received constant academic attention in recent years. Their bizarre outfits, especially their colorful hairstyles and heavy makeup, represent an aesthetic interest at odds with the norms of life. It can be argued that the "smart " culture is a marginal subculture in modern urban life, like "the weeds in the grassroots culture " mocked by people. Li Jian portrays these figures because he is concerned about the alienated state of life of these “smart” groups, and shows a kind of instinctive empathy. Just as he embodies himself into his animal paintings, he feels a similar touch with the “smart” youth. Looking closely at these “smart” figures, you can see their wounded faces, timid and shy gazes in silence. Undoubtedly, the “smart” images convey an unspeakable part in Li Jian 's animal paintings. He puts himself in the “smart” images, to acknowledges the social and cultural identity on the subconscious level.

The subject matter that artists focus on and express is a reflection of their worldview. Li Jian 's art reveals his independence and the way he observes the world. He prefers to use an ancient cultural and intellectual experience to express his thoughts. These paintings are a monologue of his inner world, a reflection of the way he relates to the real world. He dresses himself up as an animal, as if he would get a purer heart under the protection of the fur. Facing the direct inquiry about humans by contemporary art, Li Jian lives in a more inward-looking world.

At Shanglong Xili, Beijing in August 2021