From Jiangsu Province, China, Keran Li was an artist who combined an avant-garde thematic approach with traditional mediums and methods. Using ink and watercolor and familiar scroll-like motifs with calligraphy, he markedly departed from the familiar academic treatment of humans awed and dwarfed in size by dramatic landscape vistas. Instead Keran Li injected humor and interaction by placing awkward, clumsy-looking animal companions, such as water buffalo, and distracted, day-dreaming young cowboys in landscape vistas. Often these subjects seemed only mildly impresssed with their natural surroundings because they were distracted by their own activities such as playing tug of war or looking at each other for respo...