Artwork Description

Title:Reading 2

Artist:
Li Shan

Date:
Undated (Contemporary)

Medium:
Oil painting

Dimensions:
20.1 × 20.5 in (51 × 52 cm)

1. Artwork Identification:
Read 2 is a compact yet conceptually potent oil painting by Chinese artist Li Shan, measuring 51 × 52 centimeters. The composition presents a stylized vision of botanical growth—two vertical forms, one painted in lemon yellow and the other in cerulean blue, emerge from a rounded purple base set within a textured, charcoal-gray field suggestive of soil. Each form is bisected by an irregular, jagged vertical line, hinting at internal energy or anatomical structures. Above this grounded base, a softly diffused sky of pale gray and blue evokes a moody, atmospheric calm. The juxtaposition of smooth, vibrant forms against a dark, textured foreground introduces a delicate tension between simplicity and complexity, growth and containment.

2. Artistic Style and Influences:
Li Shan’s Read 2 exemplifies his engagement with biomorphic abstraction and his exploration of natural forms through a postmodern lens. While minimalist in execution, the painting draws from both Eastern and Western avant-garde vocabularies—its flattened perspective and symbolic color scheme resonate with Chinese literati painting traditions reinterpreted through a contemporary, abstract idiom. The stylized plant-like figures recall the organic surrealism of Joan Miró or Arshile Gorky, while the diagrammatic structure and subdued tones reflect Li’s broader interest in scientific imagery and genetic theory, central to his landmark Reading and Gene series. The work's symbolic abstraction is understated yet layered with philosophical nuance.

3. Historical Context:
Emerging during China’s late-20th-century wave of conceptual experimentation, Read 2 belongs to a body of work where Li Shan investigates themes of life, growth, mutation, and the unseen processes of nature. The painting can be read as a metaphor for evolution—cultural, biological, or intellectual—with the jagged central lines acting as a visual proxy for mutation, division, or the fragility of inner structure. The use of vibrant primary colors and gestural surface elements speaks to Li’s enduring interest in the relationship between form and idea. As Chinese artists turned inward during the 1990s to explore themes of identity, biology, and perception, Read 2 stands as a quiet but sophisticated meditation on these forces.

4. Provenance and Authenticity:
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation:
Read 2 is in excellent condition. The oil surface shows no signs of flaking, discoloration, or mechanical damage. The paint is stable and vibrant. No conservation measures are required at this time.

6. Artistic Significance:
A contemplative and intimate work, Read 2 encapsulates Li Shan’s transition from Political Pop to a more introspective and biologically informed abstraction. It reflects the artist’s ongoing dialogue with science and nature, filtered through a painterly language that is at once reductive and richly symbolic. For collectors, the work offers an accessible yet conceptually robust entry into Li’s oeuvre—one that distills broader themes of transformation, duality, and unseen structure into a concise, elegant format. Read 2 would be a compelling addition to collections focusing on bio-art, Asian abstraction, or the intersection of science and aesthetics.