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Biography: Li Xiao Bai

Born in Nanjing, China, in 1957, Li Xiao Bai now lives and works in Plymouth, Devon. He first studied at BA Fine Art at Nanjing College of Art and worked as an Art Lecturer at Nanjing Aeronautical University for 8 years, before moving in 1993 to England to continue his career as a professional artist. He has immensely exposed himself to cultures of the East as well as the West, especially the years during the Cultural Revolution in China and the latter years in England where he now lives and works. His early work drew heavily on the subjects of people, observing the life of people in their familiar place and setting. While his aesthetics are deeply rooted in his homeland of Chinese, Li Xiao Bai is a truly cosmopolitan artist who speaks to a global audience. He has held many solo and joint art exhibitions here in the United Kingdom, ranging from London to Bristol and throughout the southwest. In his upcoming exhibition Past Present Future Li Xiao Bai moves away from his early focus and makes reference to the change in modern day of China with the substitution of transport or to the beauty of nature. His upcoming exhibition Past Present Future will be held at Hai Gallery on 11 October 2013, with a exciting catalogue to accompany the event.


Education

2001 Postgraduate Certificate Education in Secondary Art, St. Mark and St. John, Plymouth
2001 GCSE Certificate in English at Plymouth College of Further Education
1985 University Teaching Certificate, Nanjing Aeronautical University, Nanjing, China
1981-1985 BA Fine Art, Nanjing College of Art
1980-1981 Diploma in Art, Nanjing Institute of Education, China

Employment

2004 Artist in Residence, Tor Bridge High and Devonport High School for Girls
2006- Present Teaching Life Drawing at Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth and Exeter
1993- Present Self- Employed Artist – England
1985-1993 Art Lecturer – Nanjing Aeronautical University, Nanjing, China
1976-1980 Artist in the Army, People’s Liberation Army, Hangzhou, China

Individual Shows 

2003 ‘East Meets West’ (Watercolour), Big Wide Bay Gallery, Tavistock, Devon
1993 ‘Another World’ Exhibition (Oil Painting), Alan Baxter Gallery, London
1998 Local Landscape (Oil Painting), Barbican Art Gallery, Plymouth
1995 Local Landscape (Chinese Ink Painting), Atlantic Art Gallery, Plymouth
1995 Oil Painting Exhibition, Exeter Museum
1995 Chinese Ink Painting Exhibition, Stoke Village Gallery, Plymouth
1994 ‘Another Time – Another Place’ (Oil Painting and Chinese Ink Painting), Hanover Gallery, Liverpool
1994 Chinese Ink Painting Exhibition, Plymouth Art Centre
1994 Oil Painting Exhibition, Plymouth Art Centre
1990 Two Person Show, White Lane Gallery, Plymouth
1988 / 1989 Two-Person Show, Flensberg Gallery, Germany

Selected Group Shows

2006-2012 ‘Affordable Art Fair’, Caroline Blunden – Oriental Art, Battersea Park, London
2008 Pre Beijing Olympic – Five Artist Exhibition, Faringdon, London
2006 ‘Close Distance’ – Four Artist Exhibition, Plymouth Art Centre
2004 ‘Flameworks’ Exhibition, Art Centre, Plymouth
1999 Four Artist Exhibition, Barbican Gallery, Plymouth
1999 Forbidden City Exhibition (Oil Painting), Alan Baxter Gallery, London
1999 Still- Life (Oil Painting), ‘Chelsea Gardener’, London
1998 Mixed Artist Exhibition, Barbican Gallery, Plymouth
1997 / 1998 Chinese Oil Portrait Exhibitions, Conway Hall, London
1995 ‘95 Beijing Artists Show’, Heng Art land Gallery, Singapore
1995 Oil Painting Exhibition- Clifton Gallery, Bristol
1994 ‘Accent on Beauty’, Roy Miles Gallery, Cork Street, London
1991 Shenjian Art Association Exhibition, Beijing Gallery, China
1987 1st Jiangsu Youth Artist Exhibition, Jiangsu Gallery, Nanjing, China
1985 Jiangsu Youth Contemporary Art Exhibition, Jiangsu Gallery, Nanjing, China
1983 4th Artist Exhibition~ Jiangsu Art Gallery, China

Press Coverage

2010 Londoner’s Diary, ‘Chinese pay tribute to Boris on his bike’
2010 Evening Herald, Chinese Art in schools
2008 ITV- ‘Spotlight’, Chinese Artist Talking about Beijing Olympics
2006 ITV- ‘Spotlight’, ‘Close Distance’ Art Exhibition
2006 Evening Herald
2005 Evening Herald
2004 ITV- ‘Spotlight’, Xiao Bai Li- Artist; TV Coverage of an Artist’s Life
1999 Exhibition at Barbican Gallery, Evening Herald Newspaper, Plymouth
1995 Solo Exhibition of Mixed Media, Liverpool Echo, Radio Merseyside
1994 Artist – Xiao Bai Li, Evening Herald, Plymouth
1993 Xiao Bai Li’s Chinese Ink Painting, Evening Herald, Plymouth
1989 Portraits (Oil Painting), Shenjian Art Gallery
1988 Two-Person Show, Flensberg, Germany
1987 ‘On the Way Home ’Jiangsu Daily, China
1985 ‘Vanishing Sun’ Jiangsu Magazine of Art, China

Publications

Que Zheng, Xiao Bai Li et al. (1992) Arts Guide for University Students, He Hai University Press, China
Xiao Bai Li, (1989) Chinese and Western Arts, Nanjing Aeronautical University Press, China