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About the artwork
男人与鱼 (Man and Fish), this provocative work explores desire, instinct, and the blurred boundary between human and animal nature. A man is shown in profile, his exaggerated features rendered with raw humour, as a fish extends directly toward his mouth—both offering and confrontation. Floral patterns embedded in the hair and fish motifs along the body suggest an internal landscape shaped by appetite, fantasy, and memory. The playful yet unsettling imagery reflects the tension between indulgence and restraint. Through expressive ink and irreverent symbolism, Li Jin challenges traditional decorum, transforming an intimate moment into a reflection on consumption, vulnerability, and the instincts that quietly govern human behaviour.
李津画于新加坡
Translation:
“Painted by Li Jin in Singapore.”
About the artist
Li Jin (b. 1958, Tianjin, China) is one of China’s most beloved contemporary ink painters, celebrated for transforming everyday moment into colourful, whimsical narratives. A member of the New Literati movement, Li draws on the classical literati tradition and reinvigorates it with vivid humour and modern flair. His expressive brushwork and candid subject matter—full of food, sensuality, and playful self-portraits—redefine the boundaries of traditional ink painting.
Educated at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts (BA, 1983), where he later served as Associate Professor, Li Jin has exhibited globally in China, the U.S., Australia, Germany, and beyond. His works are in prestigious collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Seattle Art Museum, National Art Museum of China, Hong Kong Museum of Art, and Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Indeed, even at their most extravagant, Li Jin's pleasures scenes are tinged with the melancholy of solitude and the unreality of a dream or a memory.