Li Jin and his work belongs to the 'New Literati' movement of Chinese ink painting but are more quirky than most, exuding a hedonistic and charming appreciation for the simple things in life, notably food, wine and sex, but also bathing and sleeping etc.

Before his study in the Painting Department at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, where he now teaches, Li Studied dyeing and weaving at the Tianjin Academy of Arts and Crafts, which partly explains his mastery of pattern and colour. His aunt was Zhou Sicong (1939-1996), an important ink painter who often made use of bleeding colour or ink. This technique can often be seen in Li's own paintings which hint at insouciance but, like all good literati painting, could not be ...