Li Guijun's brush with beauty

Artist Li Guijun seems addicted to the light and shade that bathes young and beautiful girls.

“At the Moment,” Li’s solo exhibition, is at the Long Art Museum through December 1.

Born in 1964 in Beijing, Li graduated from the oil painting department at China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1984. Since the 1990s, his depiction of female beauty has become dominant under his brushtrokes, especially young girls. 

However, he says beauty doesn’t only lie on the surface but in the soul.

“I focus on an instant moment to blend the Western classic style with an oriental flavor,” Li said.

The girls on his canvases seem drawn out of their own environment into a quiet and harmonious space fused with birds, fish and flowers, the icons of Chinese traditional culture.

Li, together with Ai Xuan, Yang Feiyun and Wang Yidong, founded the “Chinese realistic painting style” in 2004.

Exhibition info

Date: Through December 1, 10am-5pm

Address: 3398 Longteng Ave