HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery presents a selling exhibition of paintings and sculptures by the internationally renowned artist Li Jin, titled The Roots of Pleasure: The Paintings and Sculpture of Li Jin, from 24 October to 5 November. Featuring twenty eight of the artist’s recent works, the exhibition includes his first sculptures in bronze and fibreglass along with his iconic ink paintings of everyday life, whimsy and revelations.

Li Jin said: “I aspire to convey the positive energy of contemporary ink art to a global audience through the name-recognition and far-reaching influence of Sotheby’s Hong Kong in Chinese-speaking communities. I have created 28 works on this occasion to meet the high expectations and standards of Sotheby’s. Centered on the theme ‘Roots of Pleasure’, these pieces embody the vitality and artistic value of Chinese contemporary ink.”

Katherine Don, Head of Contemporary Ink, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, said: “To view art that speaks for itself is a rare opportunity. Li Jin’s work depicts the pleasure, joy and humour of the everyday, but more importantly demonstrates his mastery of the ink painting medium. His brush and ink wash are seemingly effortless, but a result of years of practice; his colour and composition are whimsical and light, but cleverly filled with undertones of seriousness. As a pioneer of contemporary Chinese ink art, Li Jin’s paintings have been exhibited and collected worldwide for decades. We are excited to have this opportunity to showcase the recent works of a great painter and longtime friend.”

Li Jin was born in 1958 and trained at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in China. He is currently the Deputy Professor of traditional Chinese painting at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. For Li Jin, life and art are one. His diaristic revelations of flesh and appetite with delicate brush and palette embrace the pleasures of food, friends, family and the foibles of our shared humanity. The artist often praises the simplicity of life, provoking humour while he is struggling with brush and ink to balance the demands of a virtuous life and the allure of sensual pleasures. Li Jin’s paintings of the sensual pleasures of daily life are in the permanent collections of the National Art Museum of China; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Guangdong Museum of Art; Seattle Art Museum; Museum of Fine Art, Boston; University of California Berkeley Art Museum; University of California Los Angeles Hammer Museum; and the University of Washington Museum of Fine Arts.