THE SHOPHOUSE is pleased to present Wuhan based artist Li Chuangli’s first solo exhibition in Asia, titled Portrait. Featuring a series of new work on canvas centering on the theme of portraiture, Li explores his understanding of modernity and postmodernity, examining the subtle evolution of imagery and painting in a consumerist society, as well as the resulting phenomenological transformation in human perception.

Since 2023, Li has been creating paintings of the MT8 chrome-plated steel tube table lamp designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld nearly a century ago. This lamp symbolizes the Bauhaus style born of the industrial renaissance era and stands as an emblem of modernity. The artist anthropomorphises it into a series of portraiture, thereby alluding to the individualistic tendencies of postmodernism. This series of work engages with the historical narrative of art-making, showcasing the overlapping shadows of time, evolved from religious subjectivity, to a modernist human-centric approach, and finally the contemporary individualistic expression.

Gallery address: 4 Second Lane, Tai Hang