李晓刚 LI XIAOGANG

Li Xiaogang (born in 1958) is a leading Contemporary Chinese tempera artist, educator, and advocate of the medium. For nearly forty years, he has practised and experimented with tempera across Asia and Europe, exploring ways to reflect modern cultural and spiritual life using this ancient medium. He is deeply influenced by Italian Renaissance master Piero della Francesca (c.1415 - 1492) and the magical realism of modern tempera masters Andrew Wyeth (1917 - 2009) and Balthus Klossowski (1908 - 2001). Li’s works are closely tied to developments in 20th-century Chinese contemporary art, focusing on the connection between material and visual expression and revealing the painter’s poetic inner world.

Li Xiaogang's distinctive visual language integrates realism, abstraction and representation, along with mysterious imagery and the aesthetics of mono no aware. His understanding of Eastern aesthetics, combined with a mastery of painting techniques, lends his works a sacred, mysterious aura that transcends time and space.

Born in Beijing, China, Li Xiaogang graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the PLA Academy of Art in 1983, where he built a solid foundation in realist painting. Influenced by the artistic trends of 1980s China, Li became committed to exploring new forms of visual expression beyond the mainstream styles of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1989, he pursued postgraduate study at Osaka Kyoiku University under renowned Japanese tempera painter Ritsuo Maeda. In 1992, Li went to Italy to study Renaissance tempera and fresco techniques, then returned to Japan three years later to teach at Kyoto University of Art and Design (now Kyoto University of the Arts). While in Japan, he remained engaged with Chinese contemporary art, frequently travelling throughout China for sketching trips and lectures. In 2014, he returned to Beijing as Vice President of the Li Keran Academy of Painting.

Li Xiaogang’s work, The Legend of Lugu Lake, was selected as an outstanding work in the landmark exhibition, The First National Oil Painting Exhibition of China, held at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing in 1988. Li also participated in the National Art Exhibition in Beijing each year from 1983 to 1986. After moving to Japan, he held numerous solo exhibitions at Takashimaya (2006, 2010), Gallery Art Tone in Tokyo, Daisen Gallery (2004, 2005, 2007), and the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art (1995). Since 2001, he has regularly participated in Japan’s annual National Art Exhibition. His most recent solo exhibition was Li Xiaogang Tempera Painting Exhibition, held in 2024 at Qiao Art Space in Beijing’s 798 Art District. Li enjoys a high reputation in Japan and received several honours, including the Prime Minister of Japan Award in 2012.

Li Xiaogang’s works are held in the National Art Museum of China and private collections worldwide. He is a member of the China Artists Association, a juror for the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition, and a doctoral advisor at Mokwon University in South Korea.