Li Jin | Five Hues of Ink

Courtesy of the artist and Ode to Art

Li Jin is best known for his lush and colourful depictions of sensory pleasures in contemporary China amidst its current period of economic liberalisation. The first 30 years of his artistic output is connected by what he considers an aesthetics of xianhuo, or "aliveness,” where he represented food, sex and other aspects of quotidian life with honesty and enthusiasm. This work marks a new phase in his practice where he turned his focus to painting in monochrome. The artist’s masterful control of tonality draws out what is traditionally called the “five colours of ink,” displayed through looser and expressive brushwork and washes.

Li Jin graduated in 1983 from the Chinese Painting Department of the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. It was also where he served as Associate Professor until 2018. He was awarded Annual Ink Artist at the 2012 Award of Art China. His works are in the collections of major institutions such as the National Art Museum of China; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Seattle Art Museum; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art and Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.