Li Di is an intuitive and quick-witted painter with a keen intellect. The same as before, he has a persistent and firm belief in painting. In the exhibition entitled A Racing Heart which includes his recent works, there is an apparent blend and simplification of German new expressionism, although to a greater degree, by rediscovering the power of traditional aesthetics, he strives to extricate himself from the shackles of painting trends(most especially from those references to the absorption of concepts embedded within traditional Chinese ink painting), which enables him to have more creative possibilities when producing his painting.

I become increasingly weary when talking about art, this is because it has been many years since I’ve had any “discussion” in the authentic sense. Everything is permeated with flattery, exaggeration and tacit commercial agreements. Vice-versa, I approach art with exhaustion, because over the decades I have continuously contemplated art, attempted to grasp art, and been correspondingly tormented by art. Every fiber of my being seems to be entangles with art. It seems that we are often coming to blows, or engaging one another happily, mutually respecting or scorning each other. Art has nearly destroyed my life, while it has also established my consciousness. We are inseparable foes. And what else is there to talk about? When I close my eyes and rest my mind, what appears before my eyes is not art, but instead is this spacious field, open country in which to release the spirit, a place that can afford me temporary freedom, a wild field that shouts out in infinite loneliness!

I crave this kind of impetuousness, it is a source, everything will naturally ignite from this point of origin, it serendipitously explodes with coincidence. For example, before painting, I become disgusted with all sorts of interference: sketches, photographs, plans. They rob me of freedom, they make me overcautious, careful; a predictable landscape or image compels and inhibits me, it calls me to produce it. I do not need this sham of a “reality.” In an un premeditated state I will often produce a reality with originality, my inner being is an inexhaustible source, it is a reality that belongs only to me, it is the open field of my spiritual world. I replay on this reality that exists only in my heart.

From “Running in Spiritual Fields” by Li Di

At Tuanjiehu, Beijing in the winter of 2011