Lives and works in Beijing, Tianjin, and New York
Born in Inner Mongolia, China, in 1970, Li Xu lives and works in Beijing, Tianjin, and New York. He holds a PhD in Oil Painting from the School of Plastic Arts, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, where he studied under Yuan Yunsheng and Zheng Yan. His work has been exhibited across Egypt, Italy, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Norway, and throughout Europe, and is held in the collections of the Zhejiang Art Museum, the Huantie Art Museum, the Whitebox Art Center, and the China Millennium Monument, among others. His research spans Chinese oil painting and traditional culture.
In 2026, VillageOneArt presented Dogs of Dark, a solo exhibition of Li Xu’s paintings and works on paper probing the ambiguity between human and canine bodies. His work was previously included in the gallery’s 2024 group exhibition Stretched Out.
Artist Talk
Exhibitions at VillageOneArt
2026 — Dogs of Dark (solo), April 23 – May 23, 2026 · Exhibition catalogue (PDF) · Artsy viewing room
2024 — Stretched Out (group exhibition), Fall 2024
Education
2012 — PhD, Oil Painting, School of Plastic Arts, Central Academy of Fine Arts. Advisors: Yuan Yunsheng, Zheng Yan
2004 — Graduate Studies, Fourth Studio, Oil Painting Department, Central Academy of Fine Arts. Advisors: Yuan Yunsheng, Ma Lu
1997 — BFA, Oil Painting Department, Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts
Collections
Zhejiang Art Museum
Huantie Art Museum, Beijing
Whitebox Art Center, Beijing
China Millennium Monument
Yuandian Art Museum
Galleri Lista Fyr, Norway
Vest Agder Museum, Flekkefjord, Norway
Selected Exhibitions
2026 — Li Xu: Dogs of Dark, VillageOneArt, Solo, New York · Let the Horse Run Free, Latitude Gallery, New York
2025 — Hunting Travel Notes, Carte Blanche Gallery, Beijing · Dragon Slaying, AAIE Contemporary Art Center, Solo, Rome · Volta Basel Art Fair, Latitude Gallery, Basel, Switzerland · Something Else Off-Biennale Cairo, DARB1718, Cairo, Egypt
2024 — Rome Arte in Nuvola Art Fair, Project UCA, Rome · Artist Book: Pages of Shelter, American Academy in Rome · Stretched Out, VillageOneArt, New York · Mauritania, AAIE Contemporary Art Center, Rome · The 2nd Todi Biennale, Tower Gallery / AAIE, Todi, Italy
2023 — The 6th Rhythm of Life Xishuangbanna International Art Exhibition, Yunnan · Overlapping Memories: Li Xu in Venice, LINLI Art Space, Solo, Venice
2022 — Plant a Tree: Li Xu Solo Exhibition, AAIE Contemporary Art Center, Rome
2021 — Open Books — Artists and Their Chinese Albums (International Touring), Kuala Lumpur
2020 — Li Xu: Free Fall, W.MING / Lianyi International, Online Solo, New York · The Book of Disquiet, Funspace Art Gallery, Online, Rome
2019 — Open Books (International Touring), Barry Cultural Center, Glamorgan, Wales, UK
2016 — Revelation of Heavenly Craft, Today Art Museum, Beijing
2015 — Salon Comparaisons, Grand Palais, Paris, France
2014 — China (Linyi) International Art Exhibition, Linyi, China
2013 — Object World — Invitational Small-Scale Oil Painting Exhibition, Beijing
2011 — The Spirit of the Academy III, China Millennium Monument, Beijing · Distance — China–Norway Art Exchange Exhibition, Norway & Beijing
2010 — Salon d’Automne, Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, Paris
2009 — Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris
2008 — Culture After Culture — 12 Contemporary Chinese Oil Painters, Beijing
2006 — Theatre, Different Space, Beijing, China
2002–03 — Chinese Plastic Arts Exhibitions, Cairo & Alexandria, Egypt
For inquiries regarding available works by Li Xu, please contact info@villageoneart.com.