Li Huayi: Landscapes From A Master’s Heart

Pre-eminent Chinese contemporary ink painter Li Huayi is 70 years old this year, so it is fitting that he is the subject of such an authoritative monograph presenting his work of the last 25 years.

The beautifully produced publication is a definitive retrospective of Li’s most celebrated works of the period, documenting his artistic evolution through its most representative pieces. The book reveals how the great tradition of Chinese art, through the talented hands and innovative mind of the artist, is able to interact with Western contemporary trends, thus providing a fascinating visual insight into the universe of a man suspended between two cultures.

‘I do not paint real landscapes, places in China or California,’ says Li. ‘The landscapes I paint exist only in my mind. Nor am I painting in a single ancient style or copying a single artist’s work. Landscapes in general is my theme, as it has been in Chinese painting for more than one thousand years. Landscape painting is a part of Chinese culture; it has been said that landscape in China was cultural before it became nature.’

In addition to its critical contribution by commentator and curator Shen Kuiyi, the book features a foreword and commentary by Li collaborator Catherine Kwai, founder of Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery in Hong Kong.