Li Yi – Chinese Painter

About the Artist

Li Yi is a master of the “Silk Road school” of figure painting — rich mineral colour, full compositions and passionate portrayals of the peoples of China’s western frontier. Vice-President of the Li Keran Academy of Painting and a member of the China Artists Association, he was named one of the thirty most academically valuable and market-promising painters of his generation.

Artist Introduction

Li Yi (李毅) was born in 1964. He is Vice-President of the Li Keran Academy of Painting, Vice-President of the Guoyun Wenhua Painting and Calligraphy Academy, a professor at the School of Continuing Education of Renmin University of China, a member of the National Ethnic Painting Academy committee, and a member of the China Artists Association. In 2009 he was honoured as one of the “Thirty Painters with the Greatest Academic Value and Market Potential” of contemporary China. His works embody his long pursuit of “natural brilliance” and “dual cultivation of brush and ink”, presenting an artistic world at once richly colourful and gracefully elegant. Carrying forward the legacy of the older generation of painters, he infuses Silk Road and frontier themes with fiery passion. His paintings are known for heavy ink and colour, bold expansive composition and full-canvas arrangement, yet within this grand expression he renders his figures with remarkable delicacy. Using skilled life-drawing technique to capture movement and expression, his works pulse with the vitality of real life. His masterpieces “Dance of the Daolang”, “Joyful Pamir” and “Eternal Kashgar” have won awards in national art exhibitions and been published in “Fine Arts” magazine. He has held major solo exhibitions across China and exhibited internationally at the United Nations, the British Museum and in the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Korea, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine. His works are collected by the Great Hall of the People, Zhongnanhai and the Central Party School, and have been presented as state gifts to foreign dignitaries.

Works Appreciation

Application Scenarios

Li Yi’s Silk Road figure paintings bring drama and colour to grand interiors, hotels, cultural institutions and corporate collections, and are among the most sought-after contemporary works for investment. His state-gift history and international exhibition record make his art a distinguished choice for collectors worldwide.