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About the artwork

日本试纸 (Whispers on Japanese Paper), this evocative work presents a solitary figure standing quietly against a softly layered landscape. Rendered on delicate Japanese paper, the ink and colour bleed gently into one another, lending the scene a hushed, introspective quality. The figure’s posture—hands tucked close, expression subdued—suggests restraint, contemplation, and emotional reserve. Seasonal motifs and distant hills create a sense of quiet passage, where time slows and thoughts linger. Through subtle line and restrained colour, Li Jin explores fragility, cultural exchange, and the poetry of stillness, allowing material and mood to speak in soft, almost whispered tones.

Translation of text on artwork:

Left panel (vertical inscription):
念桥边红药
年年知为谁生

Translation:

“By the bridge, I think of the red peonies—
year after year, for whom do they bloom?”

Signature:
李津书 – Written by Li Jin

Right-side vertical text (title):
日本试纸 – Japanese Test Paper / Experiment on Japanese Paper

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.