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Li Xiaozheng, a life of dancing with brush strokes

By Zhang Junmian: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, October 25, 2012

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Oct.18, 2012 was just another day for 55-year-old Chinese Australian oil painter Li Xiaozheng, who has stayed true to his personnel statement of nearly 40 years that "Painting is in my life the most common and irrevocable presence."

Oct.18, 2012 was just another usual day for 55-year-old Chinese Australian oil painter Li Xiaozheng. He continued to concentrate on his new still-life he started more than one week ago in his studio at the Roundness Art Community in Songzhuang, Beijing, the largest art zone in both China and the world. [Photo by Zhang Junmian/China.org.cn]

Li's personal oil painting exhibition themed "Life on Brush," kicked off on September 26 as part of the China Art Expo 2012. It became an unexpected success and was highly acclaimed by critics. Due to this very popular demand, Yingzi, Li's wife and the studio's director, decided to extend the exhibition, originally scheduled to close on October 22, to November 8. Li's book, bearing the same title as does the exhibition, will also be released in November of this year.

The exhibition features more than 60 oil paintings created by Li over the past three years since he took up creating again at the end of 2008, after a 12-year absence from the scene. On display as well are 14 paintings from the early stages of his career, which he began when he was 16 years old.

Li Xiaozheng's personal oil painting exhibition themed "Life on Brush," kicked off on September 26 as part of the China Art Expo 2012. [Photo by Zhang Junmian/China.org.cn]

Li has completed nearly 3,000 paintings in his life, with many of them bought and reserved by his followers from home and away. Li, one of the best students of renowned Chinese oil painter Huang Jinsheng, recalled: "I entered creative maturity in the 1980s. However, I have never thought that I am good enough, and the peak is yet to come. The reason is simple: Live and paint. There's never a terminal for art."

Li, born in Beijing, is the grandson of Li Zeng, a renowned Yunnan Province calligrapher during the period between the late Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China. Under the influence of his family, Li is also a good calligrapher. Li said, "I have also benefited from the musical training classes I received when I was young. Reading classical literature and philosophy also helped deepen my understanding of the layout, structure, rhythm and dialectical relations in painting."

The poetical artist is used to drawing from nature rather than from pictures. [File Photo]

In 1987, Li, who graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) and Beijing Normal University (BNU), decided to go to Australia to pursue further studies at the College of Fine Arts of the University of New South Wales. Li recalled: "Life at that time was really hard, but I never thought of giving up. To afford my tuition and living expenses, I took on three part-time jobs every day, washing dishes at Chinese restaurants, cleaning office buildings and painting for people who liked my work."

The 2000-plus works he created at home and brought with him to Australia were popular and mostly sold out. Now there were only about 20 left which are at his studio in Songzhuang. The other new works he drew in Australia were also sold quickly amid the mounting demand from his followers and collectors.

Li, who held his first solo exhibition in 1987 right before lea ving China, held three personal exhibitions in Australia. With his diligence, he even owned his own gallery-Impression Art Gallery- at Broadway, Sydney.

"Weibo Age" (150cmX200cm), 2012 [File Photo]

However, Li suddenly decided to take a break from painting in 1996, when he felt he had to do something to change the embarrassing financial situation faced by many painters like him. All were striving to make a minimum living and Li realized he could only really concentrate on his beloved art if he no longer had to bear the distractions of worrying about his next meal.

Then Li embarked upon another difficult journey, one guiding him through the ups and downs of the business world, aiming to earn enough money to support his pursuit of the arts. He founded his own home decoration company and sold products designed by him and produced at his Beijing factory to overseas clients.

Li said, "I stopped painting for 12 years, a period of time during which I didn't even paint one stroke. However, I feel I never really left the field. Every time a scene in daily life greets my eyes, it forms a solid picture in my mind as I, spontaneously, imagine that I am painting."

Li vividly remembers the date-Nov. 25, 2008- on which he picked up his paint brush again after closing his company business. To honor this moment, he wrote: "I pick up my own brush again in a studio really belonging to me, and set off on my artistic dream again. All the efforts I've made over the past few years were leading up to this robust restart. I won't stop any more!"

"Dinner at home" (91cmX109cm), painted on Nov. 25, 2008, on which Li Xiaozheng picked up his paint brush again. [File Photo]

Li, who began painting purely out of a personal liking, said that he has never painted for money or overnight stardom. He stated: "I just like painting, and I feel great joy if I can keep painting every day."

Li, a painter fond of standing when drawing, has a pair of eyes trained in finding the beauty within everyday life. The poetic artist, who boasts unique insights into and understandings of life, human nature and art, is used to drawing from nature rather than from pictures.

Li mainly conveys to his viewers his conceptions of and thoughts on the changing of the seasons, nature's beauty and life's greatness. He is especially good at forming a sharp yet harmonious contrast on his canvas through a delicate application of bluish-grey and pure colors, thus forming a unique personal style.

The world underneath Li's brush strokes is tranquil, colorful, vivid, sincere and poetically free, captivating the viewers with its unique aesthetic feeling. All elements, East and West, classic and contemporary, find a subtle point to blend into his paintings.

Jeniffer Tang, a Chinese Australian businesswoman, is a die-hard fan and collector of Li's works. She said: "In a world of constant hustle and bustle, it's fortunate that we can have a detached painter like Li Xiaozheng, who leads a peaceful life and sees his painting as a way to shed light on the true nature of life and art."

"Cherish the Present" (120cmX120cm) and "Life Bud" (120cmX100cm), 2012, prototypes and finished works [File Photo]

Li, who founded Songzhuang Roundness Art Community in 2008, is the first Chinese to develop a private art community of its kind in the country. Except the one and the Roundness Art Gallery reserved for personal use, the other 20 studios are for rent. However, the economic returns from renting are not that big, Yingzi said.

Talking about his initial purpose of establishing this art zone, Li stated: "I just want to do something to help promote Songzhuang's global development, as art should find a place which encompasses all kinds of works. By fostering a desirable environment for artistic creation and exchange, it's benefiting all artists who have clustered here, including myself."

Li continued, "It's right here, I find the life I want. I paint everyday as I like, feeling contented in the world of art. There's no economic pressure and other exterior interruptions any more. "

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