The catalog chronicles Li Nu’s first institutional solo show at Beijing’s Today Art Museum, a poetic and thematically rich suite of installations exploring the themes of body and environment in diverse materials—bronze, beeswax, marble, video, mutton fat, a snooker table, and some exactly chosen words.

“Li Nu offers us a large body of work rich in visual vocabulary and diverse in the use of media and materials, not just as a visual feast, but also eliciting a response from our senses of hearing and touch. He offers alternative and unexpected ways of viewing the socio-political issues facing people everywhere. Although it is difficult to pin down Li Nu’s art to a specific style or medium in this show, there are elements of importance that recur: words—whether inspired by literature, lyrics, or puns, whether appearing in the form of text-based works, the exhibition title or titles of works—are a fundamental aspect of Li Nu’s body of work and a crucial part of his messaging. They afford the artist opportunities to either juxtapose or make connections between overlapping ideas found in Eastern and Western philosophy. Uncommon as well as traditional media allow for a depth and breadth of expression rich in symbolism. His use of the body—specifically, his body—as a starting point of several works allows for a realization of the universal: the things that bind us together as humans. Finally, he draws on the importance of the ‘center,’ a powerful symbol since ancient times found across different cultures and traditions, not only formally but also conceptually. Through these four pillars, Li Nu forges a body of work that draws upon and reflects universal concerns in our fraught age.” (Nooshfar Afnan)

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In collaboration with Cornerstone Art Ltd