Li Shuang 李爽

From ArtSpeak China (ASC) Wiki

Li Shuang, a contemporary Chinese artist, combines traditional objects, such as flowers and vases, with modern subjects, often women.

Born in Beijing in 1957, Li grew up during the Cultural Revolution which greatly influences her work and prompted her relocation to Paris in 1983.

[edit] Date & Place of Birth

Li was born in Beijing in 1957.

[edit] Childhood & Family

Li Shuang’s works aim to testify to her painful personal and artistic journey. She grew up in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution within a family of intellectuals. Her early artistic development was influenced by her grandfather, a dealer of Chinese antiques, books and art. Upon graduating from high school in 1976, Li Shuang was sent to work with her fellow graduates as a peasant farmer for two years in the countryside near Beijing. To escape from the daily routine of physical labor, she began to paint. After returning to Beijing in 1978, Li worked as a stage designer for the Chinese National Youth Art Theatre. She emigrated to France in 1983. Li lives in Paris with her husband Emmanuel Bellefroid with their two sons.

[edit] Education & Development

In 1979, together with Ma Desheng, Wang Keping, Huang Rui, Yan Li, Yang Yiping, Qu Leilei, Mao Lizi, Bo Yun, Shao Fei, Ai Weiwei, Gan Shaocheng and Yin Guangzhong, Li founded the Stars Group—an assembly of untrained, experimental artists who challenged the strict tenants of Chinese politics. As a political and artistic group, they staged exhibitions around Beijing, making way for avant-garde art in China. Li Shuang exhibited in both the historic shows of 1979 and 1980.

[edit] Art

Li believes Chinese traditions and culture have strongly influenced her work.

Her female figures give an air of serenity and warmth and often contain flower petals or bamboo shoots in the background. Li believes Chinese art is a spiritual movement—Chinese paintings come from the heart, while Western paintings concentrate on the scene. Her paintings do not suggest anger or political involvement--her subjects simply appear strong, calm, and serene. Her style and use of rich color give her paintings a modern feel, creating a synthesis of the old and the new.

In 2007, Li created twenty paintings of multicolored Buddha-like figures with small eyes, long faces and ears, and calm facial expressions. She presented these paintings in April 2007 at the Cave Arts center in Shanghai. The show was a homecoming for Li, who had left China for France over twenty years earlier. The paintings are simple, their backgrounds decorated with flowers and soft lights. The focus rests on the figures with downcast eyes and peaceful expressions.

For images from this exhibition, please click here.

(Above Right: Heart & Incense, Oil on Canvas, 2006)

[edit] Exhibitions

Dialogue Space in Beijing opens Li Shuang's solo exhibition "Butterfly Dream" on 27 March 2010. Centered on Li's work from the past two years, the exhibition presents a spiritual world inspired by the Taoist classic "Butterfly Dream" by Zhuang Zi. 27 March through 11 May 2010. For images from the exhibition, please click here.

Li began showing her work in China as early as 1979 at the Stars exhibit at the Huafangzhai Gallery in Beijing. Her works were featured in all the Stars group shows, The Stars: Ten Years, 1989 (Hanart Gallery, Hong-Hong and Taipei), Demand for Artistic Freedom, The Stars 20 Years, 2000 (Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo) and the retrospective exhibition in Beijing in 2007: Origin Point (Today Art Museum, Beijing). In 1987 Li took part in the founding of The Chinese United Overseas Artists Association (headquatered in New York), along with Stars members Ai Weiwei, Wang Keping, Huang Rui, Ma Desheng, Quleilei, Yan Li as well as others Chinese artists living in the United States, Zhang Hongtu, Yuan Yunsheng and Bai Jingzhou.

By 1986, her works had appeared in various exhibitions worldwide including San Francisco, New York, and her new found home of Paris. Her 2007 exhibitions in Beijing and Shanghai were a homecoming of sorts, as she had not displayed her work in China since her 1983 emigration from the country. For Li Shuang’s full CV, please click here.