LIHAO
The Vigilant Person , 2017
LIHAO (b. 1983, Hunan, China) lives and works in Shenzhen. His practice moves between painting and philosophical inquiry, drawing from the visual language of Chinese literati tradition while confronting contemporary questions of power, existence, and individual agency.
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Rooted in a sustained engagement with philosophy, literature, and both Eastern and Western art histories, LIHAO constructs a symbolic world of masked figures, hybrid beings, and recurring motifs set within deceptively calm landscapes. These are not narratives but psychological fields, where control, alienation, and resistance are continuously tested. His work centers on the condition of the individual within larger systems, asking what remains of autonomy in a world shaped by discipline, ideology, and force .
Across his paintings, tension is held rather than resolved. Authority coexists with vulnerability, order with instability, clarity with unease. The images feel immediate but unsettled, as if something beneath the surface is always shifting. LIHAO does not offer answers. He creates a space where viewers must confront these contradictions directly.
LIHAO has presented solo exhibitions at Yue Art Museum in Beijing, Cui Zhenkuan Art Museum in Xi’an, and Portofino Gallery in Shenzhen. His work has been widely exhibited across China, including at YOUNG SPACE Art Museum in Chongqing, Guan Shanyue Art Museum in Shenzhen, and Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou.
