Li Dan

Li Dan (b. 1997, China) lives and works in Japan. Currently pursuing a master’s degree in Japanese painting at Joshibi University of Art and Design, his practice revolves around the theme of self-love—an exploration of the delicate balance between matter and emotion, solitude and connection. Motifs such as crows, bottles, and plants often appear as symbols of inner reflection and resonance with the surrounding world.

Working primarily with mineral pigments and ink on silk and hemp paper, Li experiments with dyeing, burning, and layering. These processes turn the surface into a silent field of transformation, where pigment, water, and fire leave traces of time.

His paintings do not depict the visible; rather, they evoke the quiet state of “being.” Through the breath of materials and the stillness between gestures, he seeks a space where memory and emotion gently converge.

Li Dan was born in Xi'an, China in 1997 and currently lives in Japan. From an early age, he was keenly aware of natural forms, changes in light and shadow, and slight differences in color, which laid the foundation for his future artistic creations. While majoring in Chinese painting at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts in China as an undergraduate, he systematically studied traditional Chinese painting techniques and participated in the copying and research of Dunhuang murals. This experience gave him a deep understanding of materials, textures, and the subtle texture of painting surfaces. It also cultivated his keen observation of time traces and historical levels, and provided him with practical experience in later combining traditional techniques with modern experimental expressions.

Since 2024, Li Dan has continued her studies in Japanese painting at the Japan Women's University of Art Graduate School, exploring the delicate balance between time, matter, emotion, and memory with “self-love (self-love)” as the core theme. His work currently uses crows as a self-symbol, reflecting inner loneliness and mood swings. At the same time, he extends expression through images such as bottles, plants, and everyday objects, linking personal emotions to environmental space, making his works present multi-level images that are both figurative and abstract. He plans to introduce more objects into his creations in the future to expand the scope and depth of his narrative in the form of “objects.”

In terms of materials and techniques, Li Dan uses rock paint and ink as the main medium, taking into account the use of silk and hemp paper. On silk, he performed antique dyeing, incineration, and distressed treatment; on hemp paper, he repeatedly experimented with layering, penetration, and ink flow to show the tension between natural generation and manual control. The penetration of paint, the flow of water, the traces of fire, and the breathing of paper together form the language of “objects” in the work. Time and emotion are embodied in this process, becoming perceptible silence. He emphasized the process of creation. Each experiment was a microscopic observation and perception of the relationship between materials, space, and light and shadow, as well as an introspection on one's own emotions and memories.

Li Dan's paintings are not aimed at reproducing what can be seen; they are an experience of “being.” He tried to make matter, emotion, and time reflect each other in the same space, so that the picture becomes a field for the viewer to perceive and experience — both gentle and introspective, remaining and generating. In the current creative context centered on crows, he continues to explore the relationship between himself and the world; in the future, he plans to expand the boundaries of self-symbolism through more images of everyday objects and “things”, so that his works present a richer level of narrative and spiritual connotations.

Li Dan is also concerned about the contemporary development of Japanese painting, and continues to explore the relationship between material experiments, spatial perception, and composition. He hopes to create visual language reflecting modern life experiences and psychological feelings based on traditional techniques, focusing on the existence and expressiveness of matter, so that viewers can feel the “state of being” that is both figurative and abstract in his work.