Lost and Emerge
Curiosity and longing for the diversity of world historical cultures have, like a magical force, guided Li Ruozhen to visit country after country, with her footsteps spanning Europe, Asia, North and South America, and even Africa. Through sharp observation and bold creativity, she highlights the challenges, opportunities, and transformations facing human civilization today; at the same time, by exploring traditional cultures, she draws out both the similarities and differences in the origins and development of human culture, which holds significant value for future choices. This exhibition creates an opportunity for the audience: to follow the artist as she wanders the world, traveling between ancient cultures and contemporary society, experiencing both the conflicts and the aspirations for peace in human civilization. We see that Li Ruozhen integrates her life experiences, inner reflections, material choices, and artistic expression; this life-enriched approach gives her work a quality that is both retro and innovative.
Israel Archive — "War and Peace" In 2014, Li Ruozhen worked as a Gaza war correspondent for National Geographic, recording different countries’ and regions’ interpretations of Israel’s national history and political situation from a first-person perspective. She bypassed the misunderstandings created by history, culture, religion, and customs, seeking human commonalities in daily life — the desire for love and peace. This series objectively reflects the tragedies and complexities of contemporary international culture, filled with strong humanistic feelings and attention to universal values.
Colombia Archive — "The Legend of Gold" These works are not merely contemporary aesthetic transformations of indigenous culture; instead, they focus on Li Ruozhen’s reflections on life philosophy. She juxtaposes the South American traditional idea of harmony between nature and humans with today’s survival-of-the-fittest reality, offering viewers visual shock while provoking deep contemplations about the meaning of life.
China Archive — "Fragments of Memories from Xibianmen" Li Ruozhen created this installation series using symbolic techniques to document her childhood memories in Beijing’s Xibianmen district. The installations combine painting, sculpture, installation art, ready-made objects, and personal notes. The fragments of memory, freely intertwined and multi-dimensionally integrated, form a new whole. This allows viewers not only more room for imagination but also the unique experience of “a thousand viewers, a thousand Hamlets.”
In short, Li Ruozhen’s work differs from that of ordinary painters limited to studio and commission work. She deliberately avoids the alienation of art by mass media in the era of mechanical reproduction (Walter Benjamin). Her art emerges from the observation and reflection rooted in life experience, demonstrating her perpetual exploration of the unknown world — a “Faustian pursuit of the infinite” (Oswald Spengler). With her deep life experiences, rich knowledge, unique humanistic perspective, and strong sense of value, she expresses inner pursuits and self-transcendence through forms that are either vigorous and free-flowing or meticulous and detailed. This is indeed the trait of a new generation of scholarly artists in the 21st century.
Ding Fang, Director and Ph.D. Supervisor, Renaissance Research Institute, Renmin University of China.
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