Currency War Gold ¥ vs $ LI LIHONG

The Michelin “idols” (Michelin China) or the currency “at war” (Currency War) appears in a double perspective. Chinese Dreams (Dream China) or Patched hearts (Repaired Heart) in red, white or golden. Li Lihong proves us that he is a great master in ceramic who has been able to nourish himself on a complex tradition of Chinese porcelain and transform it into his own unique and multicultural language.

For his new exhibition at the LOFT Gallery, Li Lihong presents his latest creations, completely new for the most part, and invites us to plunge into the heart of his humorous and poetic universe.

Born in 1974 in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China, Li Lihong graduated in 1996 from the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University of Beijing, and then in 2005 earned a MFA in the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute. He is now himself professor of Chinese porcelain work at Fudan University in Shanghai, living and creating in this city.

A skillful Chinese ceramic artist, he comes indeed from a village well-known for the production of the Royal china porcelain for hundreds of years, where he learned the art of ceramics alongside the Grand Master Qin Xiling. Li Lihong gives a contemporary touch to traditionally painted china, mimicking the shapes of recognizable brands’ logos. His statement is univocal and strong : Western consumerism, in a globalised form, has become integrated into Chinese culture which is in struggle to preserve its integrity and savoir-faire.

However, the tedious and difficult process of production and the fine detailing on the painted glazes counter this blatancy. Li Lihong explores this contrast, a very contemporary Chinese attitude toward the traditional arts. Moreover, the frailty of his artworks and the preciousness of their material add another contrast to the cheapness and ephemerality of mass production and consumption.

Li Lihong has been showing his work regularly in China and other Asian countries for many years, in ceramics exhibitions and at biennials, as well as in many personal or collective exhibitions around the world.

More information, click here !