Artist: Xiaoqi Li
Title: The Loneliness of a Book
Date: 2009
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 120 x 120 cm
Provenance: Private collection
Signature: Signed and dated lower right
Condition Report: Good condition

Description:
In The Loneliness of a Book, Xiaoqi Li explores themes of solitude, memory, and contemplation through a strikingly minimal yet evocative composition. The square canvas is framed by two bands of deep black along the upper and lower edges, creating a cinematic window into the central image. Against a softly textured wash of grey, the faint outline of an open book emerges. One page features a portrait merging both frontal and profile perspectives, rendered in expressive, gestural linework, while the other page suggests the presence of written text—an abstracted hint of communication and thought. The restrained palette and ethereal quality of the forms evoke a sense of quiet introspection, as if the book itself holds the weight of time and forgotten narratives. Li masterfully balances absence and presence, giving the work a dreamlike, meditative aura.

About the Artist:
Li Xiaoqi, a graduate of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in 2005, specializes in comprehensive art and currently works as a freelance artist based in Huangjueping, Chongqing. His work often delves into surrealism, human introspection, and conceptual narratives. He has exhibited in numerous shows, including the 7th, 8th, and 9th Annual Exhibitions of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, the Chongqing Watercolor Pastel Painting Exhibition, and various contemporary showcases such as "Foreplay" Contemporary Art Exhibition, "Imaginary World", and "Traces" Idealistic Narrative Contemporary Art Exhibition. Li’s work is recognized for its poetic visual language and ability to evoke deep emotional resonance.