Artists Li Shurui and Shi Zhiying bring nature, light and colour to joint exhibition

Leading Chinese female artists Li Shurui and Shi Zhiying present their perspectives on nature, light and colour at a new joint exhibition by PhillipsX and White Space. Sophie Song from Phillips Private Sales walks Jaz Kong through the show

Auction houses are increasingly looking for ways to expand outside the secondary market. Take Phillips as an example – after opening its Asia headquarters in the West Kowloon Cultural District in spring 2023, the 228-year-old company has held such ambitious exhibitions as the phenomenal (Re)Trace Kusama to Shiota, the world’s first dialogue between the two legendary Japanese contemporary female artists Yayoi Kusama and Chiharu Shiota; and Alan Chan: Collecting Inspiration for Design, which was a delight for local design enthusiasts.

Currently on view is AWAKENED by nature, a collaborative selling exhibition by PhillipsX and White Space, a gallery founded in Beijing in 2004, showcasing works by contemporary female artists Li Shurui and Shi Zhiying. Both Li and Shi were born in the 1980s in China. At first glance, “nature” is nowhere to be seen in their exhibition, as plants and animals and even humans are missing from the artworks. Yet, they still serve as a reminder for us to go looking for it, around us and inside us.

In introducing the show, Sophie Song, Phillips’s associate specialist in Private Sales, explains, “It starts from the things that we can see in our everyday life, then it goes back into addressing humanity and how humans exist in this world”. What’s significant about growing up when the artists did, she says, is that “it was a period when mainland China was going through massive changes in terms of urbanisation and pretty much everything”.

The two artists have indeed witnessed changes in the country’s economic and social environment – KFC and McDonald’s did not set foot in China until 1987 – and yet, decades have passed and we find ourselves in a very similar situation. Moving into the next generation of technology with AI and its ilk, this is yet another time of rapid and unpredictable change. If nature is a force, Li and Shi are gentle observers of the world and society, and their paintings are projections of delicate yet powerful emotions.

Entering the exhibition hall, visitors can expect two very distinct characters. While Li Shurui is a master of light, Shi Zhiying portrays religious philosophies in the form of painting. Li’s work here is a summary of her growth in the past decade or so, displaying her iconic Light series, which can be recognised by its pixelated, grid-like panels. However, as China stepped into a new era in the 21st century, so did Li. One of the paintings displayed, May, is her final piece in the LED-based series. “Li believed it to be the epitome of this series,” Song explains. “Everything in 2023 is already established, so it was time to be done talking about urbanisation.”

Another vantage point that prompted Li’s realisation was presumably the pandemic, as the series that blossomed afterwards was Springtime After the Pandemic. “She went through an excruciating phase in Shanghai where people were not allowed to go outside,” Song notes, but what came with the restrictions was Li’s creative response. “She realised that when people can’t even go outside,
the most important thing is something that sparks joy whenever you see it.”

The birth of the post-pandemic series coincided with the birth of Li’s second child, and also opened a new chapter in the artist’s career. As she explains over email, “My creative language started with LED lights. During my upbringing, I also witnessed the development of the Internet in the past three decades and, step by step, how it became such an inseparable part of our daily and digitised lives. The next step will be for us to try to work with AI and allocate our resources with it. Looking back three years ago, under the grid-style social management, our data was closely monitored and our behaviours were meticulously controlled. It was effective in getting rid of the threats during COVID, but this ‘pixelated way of life’ has already infiltrated our day-to-day. I’ve always been inspired by technology; however, changes are coming and they come quickly. When humans are put in the crossroads, how we define our relationship with AI will be a milestone for developing the next ideology – whether we see it as our child or a tool. And it’s essential for us to stay alert in this chess game.”

But where, one might ask, does nature stand among the sea of LED lights and motherboards and computers and data? “I believe that light and space are vectors to measure human development. Starting from natural light – fire – to man-made light, it has been a pathway of evolution, each step further away from Mother Nature. As we developed our new ways of living, it’s almost as if we are trying to prove that we exist, that it is key for us to leave a mark on this world. Be that as it may, we must not forget that for everything we have, we owe it to nature, equally and without exception.”

If we take away all the human traces, especially in the urban world, how do we know we exist? Shi Zhiying might have the answers to this existential crisis, creating what may be the conversation between the two artists in AWAKENED by nature. For Shi, the Buddhist philosophy anattā, or non-self, has always been her core value. Her work might look familiar as she has taken inspiration from relief sculptures in Dunhuang, such as those found in the Longmen Grottoes.

Shi’s works are particularly interesting to Song, who says, “I truly admire how she’s able to put together two styles – these canvas works are created with common Western art techniques, and take you back to the 15th and 16th centuries when people worked on frescoes and such. It’s the same technique that was applied here, and yet the subjects are very oriental and very Buddhist in a sense. It’s her unique way of combining two different cultures together, and it allows us to travel back in time to look at the relief sculptures in the East a few thousand years ago.”

Those who are familiar with traditional Chinese architecture and temples might be able to notice how the stone lions and protections are brought to life in Shi’s works as she experiments with different colours and textures. “These all go back to the religious connotation, not necessarily to preach, but just to give people a sense of calmness and love, prosperity and protection,” Song says. “Some of her works are extremely colourful, and some are more monochromatic. But the way they’re executed is the same, in the sense that it’s all about layering different colours on top of each other, and all of them are very intricately done. Shi also realised during the pandemic that it’s very significant to paint images that provide immediate relief.”

It’s important to keep in mind, however, that Shi’s works are not simply religious paintings. “I do not wish to conclude my artworks with Buddhist philosophies as this is scarcely a conversation with words,” she says. “To transcend both requires a tremendous amount of honesty when faced directly. My creation process still involves a lot of breaking preset ideologies and ways of thinking.” Take the blending of cultures as an example. While we appreciate Shi putting cultures together, these boundaries are exactly what she is trying to break. “East versus West, virtuality versus reality, theories versus practices – no two things are solidly defined. What I’m doing is trying to reach a balance in my paintings, which allows me to be free in my art world. I’m inspired by the spiritual cultivators who are able to practise Buddhist philosophies in any daily activities, be it eating or sleeping. This autonomy and liberation of mind is a state I wish to achieve.”

Compared with previews during the auction calendar, selling exhibitions are experiments with calculated risks that provide a wider range of varieties, styles and sizes. Phillips Asia’s first collaboration with a gallery, AWAKENED by nature is a way to support younger and female artists in the region. “The artists shown here are true to our values, and we try to give a spotlight to different people,” Song says. “White Space has been doing great with a focus on promoting younger artists, which is something we’re also hoping to do, and we are always open to collaborations with any galleries down the line.”

What Song admires is the curation of the show, which is to question human existence through different art forms, topics and subject matters. Perhaps this type of intangible force is nature after all, much like the gentle yet powerful paintings by Li Shurui and Shi Zhiying, allowing viewers to seek the true meaning of what it means to be human.

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