LI HUAYI (B. 1948)

The intricate landscape by Li Huayi resembles the monumental Northern Song painting in spirit, yet the method with which the artist experiments is fundamentally is a mix of new and old. To create the architectonic formations of grotesque mountains and cliffs, Li splashes ink onto paper, allowing it to flow freely to form the underlying composition - a process most notably associated with Zhang Daqian. Photo-realistic details are then arduously added, using the gongbi technique and often over a few months, to depict unyielding pine trees and jagged rocks rising from the abyss. With fantastical grey and black clouds obscuring the mountainscape in a dramatic light, the resulting image is at once monumental and intimate, radiating a quiet energy.