Li Shuji
BORN: 1943
HOMETOWN: DALIAN, LIAONING PROVINCE, CHINA
LIVES AND WORKS: SINGAPORE & INDONESIA
Li Shuji was born in Dalian, China in 1963. His alma mater is Shenyang Luxun Academy, where he graduated in 1968. He then proceeded to study at the Liaoning Academy of painting as well. He is a member of the Chinese Artists Association and the Vice-President of the Liaoning Painting Institute Business. As an artist, he has been active in the Asian and European regions where he engages in cultural exchanges, oil painting, and research. Currently, he resides in both Singapore and Indonesia.
Li is a well-traveled artist who draws inspiration from his travels. He specialises in oil paintings, with most of his works featuring portraits. His paintings capture the enthralling Asian beauties in different settings and roles, which depict significant meanings for viewers to interpret. Created through a unique blend of western oil painting and the fusion of Chinese culture and heritage, art lovers are enriched with new and refreshing works to feast their eyes upon.
In 1992, at the invitation of Indonesian President Suharto, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture jointly sent Li to Indonesia, to paint for the Sino-Indian re-painting, and successfully held an exhibition of his paintings, which was well received and banqueted by President Suharto and his wife thrice. His accomplishments earned him the “Highest Award” certificate, awarded to him by the Indonesian Presidential Palace. He was well-received several times by President Megawati and President Susilo Bambang Yiddar, and had the honour of painting several portraits on behalf of China. In Singapore, he painted a portrait of Lee Kuan Yew’s cabinet, a portrait of Prime Minister Wu Zuodong, and received a cordial reception from them, becoming one of the few painters in our country who has been received multiple times by foreign heads of state.
In 2000, at the invitation of the Singapore government, Li completed a 6-metre by 3-metre painting titled "Overseas Chinese - Mother of the Revolution", which showed Dr. Sun Yan Sen and comrades of Tong Meng Hui (Revolutionary Alliance) speaking to tin miners and rubber plantation workers at Kampar, Perak, Malaysia in 1907. This work is listed as the largest painting in Singapore and is the treasure of the town hall collection in Singapore’s Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall.
Over the years, Li has participated in more than 20 national art exhibitions. His works are collected all over the world, with collectors including the National Art Museum of China.