Curator: Wei Xing

Exhibition Background
As an artist who possesses strong sensibility towards the implicit relationship between material and form, Li Hui’s art has always been focusing on the study and exploration upon the very meaning of materiality & spirituality. He excels in discovering the transcendental nature of things that are ignored by most people shrouded by mundane objects and its environment. His work emphasizes on the extreme uncertainty and changeability embedded in everyday life. The cold metallic feeling carried in his artworks expresses the artist’s concern towards the overwhelming influence of urban industry upon human societies and the formation of the spirit of modern mankind.

Li Hui is an individual capable of perceiving things from different angles and perspectives. This is exemplified from his early work – a jeep transformed with two heads and two steering systems, to his recent conceptual piece, “1Km = 1L” (in this work, artist tries to break the established social aesthetic values concerning human body and explore the hidden ideologies and social-economical significances behind them, by representing scientific theories and equations with installation-based set-ups and massive archival documents). In this forthcoming solo effort, the exhibition includes pieces from his highly-known laser series, from which a man-made mechanical heart is intertwined with pipes, threads and electronic lines, suspended in a glass cage in which the heart will be bathed under the invisible lights generated from laser machine. Another important artwork featured in this exhibition is a giant installation work, “Aircraft Carrier Crossbow” that is made of stainless steel. The dark yet shining metallic luster applied to this installation, works together with a powerful aggressive gesture generated from within the body of the work; delivering a kind of horrific cold-blooded feeling, and reminding people of the dark and violent nature of this world. In balance with this work, a metal safe with a mechanical device being installed within will create noises and therefore, likely to draw attention and curiosities from the public. They will be puzzled and amazed by merely standing in front of this small yet vibrant and energetic artwork, in which it seems to proffer that some tiny elves are trapped inside.

Li Hui was born in Beijing in 1977, and graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts.
He currently lives and works in Beijing