Lisson Gallery home page

Li Ran

Li Ran’s practice ranges across multiple media from installation, performance and writing, to video and painting, with utilization of archival photos, staged photography, vocal mimicry, and sound performance. In recent years, he has been researching into stage art, make-up design, and the production of translated foreign films, in the context of modern China. Simultaneously, he has curated a collection of case studies of the 1930s, featuring the work of satirical cartoonists, leftist and authors of the “Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies” literary school, all of whom in a complex social background. These endeavors connect with the diverse circumstances of those “humble intellectuals” in present-day art industry, and serve as a rich and personal response from the artist.

Li Ran was born in Hubei, China in 1986. He moved from Beijing to Shanghai in 2018. He graduated with a BFA from the Oil Painting Department from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in 2009. In 2015, Li held a solo exhibition at OCAT Contemporary Art Terminal (OCAT), Xi'an, China. His single-channel video work was screened at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London and The Jewish Museum, New York. He has exhibited in group shows at UCCA Edge, Shanghai, China (2023); Art Sonje Center, Seoul, Korea (2022); He Art Museum, Shunde, China (2022); Sifang Museum, Nanjing, China (2021); OCAT Contemporary Art Terminal, Shanghai, China (2021, 2019, 2014, 2013); Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing, China (2020); HOW Museum, Shanghai, China (2019); Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing, China (2017); Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2017); Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila, Philippines (2016); OCAT Contemporary Art Terminal, Shenzhen, China (2016, 2013, 2012, 2011); NTU Center For Contemporary Art Singapore (CCA), Singapore (2015); Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, USA (2014); Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin, Germany (2013); basis door actuele kunst (BAK), Utrecht, Netherlands (2013); Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), Houston, USA (2012) and other venues. His works were featured in Montreal Biennale (2014); Biennale of Moving Images, Geneva (2014); 4th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art (2014); 2nd CAFAM Biennial, Beijing (2014), 4th ‘Former West’ Project, Berlin (2013), 9th Gwangju Biennial (2012), and 7th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale (2012). Li was awarded the ‘Best Artist Award’ at the Moscow International Youth Art Biennial in 2014 and was nominated for the ‘Future Generation Award’ by the Pinchuk Arts Center in 2017.

 

You Who No Longer Believe in Community

Li Ran
You Who No Longer Believe in Community

Li Ran
You Who No Longer Believe in Community
2023
Oil on Canvas
180 x 150 x 5 cm
70 7/8 x 59 x 2 in

The Humbles

Li Ran
The Humbles

Li Ran
The Humbles
2023
Oil on Canvas
180 x 150 x 5 cm
70 7/8 x 59 x 2 in

The Sudden Death of Animality

Li Ran
The Sudden Death of Animality

Li Ran
The Sudden Death of Animality
2023
Oil on Canvas
170 x 140 x 5 cm
66 7/8 x 55 1/8 x 2 in

The Night in the Wrong Seat

Li Ran
The Night in the Wrong Seat

Li Ran
The Night in the Wrong Seat
2023
Oil on canvas
160 x 150 x 5 cm
63 x 59 x 2 in

Returning to The Crossroad

Li Ran
Returning to The Crossroad

Li Ran
Returning to The Crossroad
2022
Oil on canvas
160 x 200 x 5 cm
63 x 78 3/4 x 2 in

Standing in the Haze

Li Ran
Standing in the Haze

2022
Oil on canvas
200 x 160 x 5 cm
78 3/4 x 63 x 2 in

Waiting for the Advent

Li Ran
Waiting for the Advent

2022
Oil on Canvas
100 x 100 x 5 cm
39 3/8 x 39 3/8 x 2 in

Cure

Li Ran
Cure

Li Ran
Cure
2021
Oil on canvas
160 x 130 x 5 cm
63 x 51 1/8 x 2 in

Another Distressed Person

Li Ran
Another Distressed Person

Li Ran
Another Distressed Person
2021
Oil on canvas
70 x 100 x 4.2 cm
27 1/2 x 39 3/8 x 1 5/8 in

Where Are My Shoes?

Li Ran
Where Are My Shoes?

Li Ran
Where Are My Shoes?
2020
Oil on canvas
150 x 120 x 5 cm
59 x 47 1/4 x 2 in

The Most Abstract Paragraphs

Li Ran
The Most Abstract Paragraphs

2021-2022
4K single-channel video with colour and sound
39 min 06 sec

Somewhat Abstract, Somewhat Realistic

Li Ran
Somewhat Abstract, Somewhat Realistic

2019
Dual-channel HD video installation, black and white & color, 4.0 stereo channel
4 min 55 sec & 4 min 50 sec

New Neighbor

Li Ran
New Neighbor

2019
Installation, wood & metal frame structure, stainless steel anti-skid board, marbling wallpaper, literature & ready-made comprehensive materials
600 x 400 x 400 cm
Exhibition view of The Racing Will Continue, The Dancing Will Stay, 2019, Times Museum, Guangzhou, China

Persona Swap

Li Ran
Persona Swap

2017-2019
Synchronous dual-channel 2K video, black and white & color, 4.0 stereo channel
15 min 30 sec

Waiting for the New Suit

Li Ran
Waiting for the New Suit

2017
Installation, plaster sculptures, 500 x 150 x 180 cm
HD Single-channel video, No sound & Black and White, 39 min 26 sec

Night of Patmos

Li Ran
Night of Patmos

2017
Sound, black and white, single channel HD video
20 min 30 sec
Exhibition view of Clod Night, 2017, UCCA, Beijing, China

Life of the Pilgrim

Li Ran
Life of the Pilgrim

2017
Sound & Black and White and Color, HD single-channel film
33 minutes

It is not Complicated, A Guide Book

Li Ran
It is not Complicated, A Guide Book

2016
Color and sound, dual-channel HD video installation
18 min 28 sec & 7 min 50 sec, size variable
Exhibition view, 2016, Aike Dellarco West Bund space, Shanghai, China
 

Same Old Crowd

Li Ran
Same Old Crowd

2016
Black & White HD four-channel synchronized videos with sound
15 minutes, size variable
Exhibition view, Aike Dellarco West Bund space, Shanghai, China

Exhibitions

  1. Li Ran: Waiting for the Advent - past exhibition

    Li Ran: Waiting for the Advent

    14 September – 28 October 2023

  2. Li Ran: Beyond Silence - past exhibition

    Li Ran: Beyond Silence

    29 June – 5 August 2022

We use cookies on our website to improve your experience. You can find out why by reading our privacy policy. By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of cookies Privacy Policy