Untitled

Born in 1979 in Liaoning Province (China) and a graduate of the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, Jia Ai’li lives and works in Beijing. His main solo exhibitions around the world include the following: Jia Aili, CAC Malaga, Centro de Arte Contemporaneo, Malaga, Espana; Jia Aili, Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy; Seeker of Hope, at Singapore Art Museum; The Dharma Bums, at the Hartell Gallery, Cornel University (Ithaca, USA); Good Morning, World!, at the OCT Center of He Xiangning Art Museum (Shenzhen, China); Make Believe, at the Institute of International Visual Arts (London, 2010); The Wasteland, at Platform China (Beijing, 2017). His works have been shown in group exhibitions, at Pinchuk Art Centre (Kyiv, 2014); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul, 2013); a special exhibition at the 54th Venice Biennial (MENGLONG – OSCURITÃ, Venice, 2011); Guangzhou Triennial (2008); Shanghai Art Museum (2006 and 2007), and China National Museum (Beijing 2006), to name only a few.

Often with a greyish and bluish hue, the artist covers a broad range of topics through his work presenting a world in which solemnity and violence co-exist, a world on the brink of collapse. His is a solemn and romantic detour, in contrast with a Chinese art world which is, to a varying extent, clamorous and unsteady. Using pictorial language the public is well acquainted with to depict space, his works energize the senses of the soul, the very essence of oriental aesthetics that many collectors and art enthusiasts have come to appreciate.