Li Jin
Today • A Banquet
9 December, 2012–6 January, 2013
Today Art Museum
2nd floor exhibition hall of building 1
No.32 Baiziwan Road, Chaoyang District
Beijing, China
www.lijintodayfeast.com
www.todayartmuseum.com
In the field of modern Chinese ink painting, Li Jin has been hailed as having the most spirited of talents. His works are based on the lives of the people, and are full of the subtleties he finds in the depiction and reflection of scenes from everyday life.
His work relies heavily traditional Chinese ink painting techniques, as he uses age-old methods to present the day-to-day lives of modern people, while at the same time using colors found in the modern palette to infusive vibrancy into his paintings.
Li Jin’s paintings frequently feature scenes of delicacies and feasts, which has led many to refer to him as a “gourmand artist.” In December of 2012, Li Jin’s exhibition Li Jin • Today • A Banquet will open to the public, at which time Li Jin will use his banquet to give the public a glimpse into his “Delicacies in Art.”
In March, Li Jin set out on a “Culinary and Artistic Journey” to create this exhibition, traveling to more than ten locations to create painted scrolls filled with delicacies, including New York, Boston, Hunan, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Germany, France, and finally, Beijing. All along the way, he sampled the dishes of each region and created a culinary creation on the spot, giving the audience an unusual and vicarious experience. On his “Culinary and Artistic Journey” he melded together local cuisines and customs, creating a record of the places where food and culture blend together and where they clash, in the hopes of bringing the audience “a cuisine of the heart.”
This exhibition brings together travel, cuisine and art, creating a carefree, happy and fun feast that can only be described as sumptuous. On his journey, Li Jin both traveled and recorded, and found beauty in life and balance in cultural clashes. This is his first time creating inked scrolls of 23 meters, all marked with his signature method, which presents the charm and the spirit of Chinese ink paintings.
