Li Jin 李津 (b. 1958)

Born in China during a time of upheaval, Li Jin is one of the best-known and most loved unorthodox painters of the New Literati Group. The movement, composed of Chinese artists mostly born from the 1940s to1960s who experienced both the birth of New China and the Cultural Revolution, reflected the social and political changes that occurred during these historic times. An iconic feature of their work is the use of classical Chinese methods, such as ink painting, in combination with Western images –  as seen in Li’s famous comics – to create a fresh contemporary style that contrasts greatly with traditional and “revolutionary model” Chinese painting.

Li developed his own uniquely playful style in the early 1990s, and is now famous for images of food, wine and elements that depict the simple pleasures of the good life. The central debauched figure in all his work are meant to be self-portraits while the young women reflect his female ideal. The work ECKART ASIA has in its collection, which shows off Li’s distinct signature to perfection, is on the cover of the book Chinese Ink Paintings Now by Jason Kuo.

Li’s paintings are in the collections of the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Seattle, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the museums of the University of California in Berkeley and San Francisco, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Li currently teaches Chinese painting at Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts.