LI XUBAI (b.1940) Lush Mountain in Smoky Clouds, 2015LI XUBAI (b.1940)Lush Mountain in Smoky Clouds, 2015Ink and pigment on xuan paper. 178cm long x 97cm wide (70in long x 38 1/4in wide).李虛白（1940年生） 雲煙翠嶂 水墨設色紙本 立軸 2015年作Li Xubai was born in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 1940. He moved to Hong Kong in 1979, where he has been the editor of art magazines such as 'The World of Collectors' and 'Dragon Roots Art Magazine'. He moved again in 1996, but this time to Canada, where he now lives. Although he began his artistic career by teaching himself Western-style painting, he was interested in Chinese classical literature, poetry and landscape painting since the 1960s. His paintings are influenced by the Song masters of the 12th century, but he maintains his connection with the contemporary world by creating a seemingly flat pictorial space and a pixilated effect that reminds one of digital media. By choosing to paint in a classically derived style, Li Xubai asserts his cultural identity while working in a foreign land. The poems he inscribes on his paintings in traditional literati fashion usually mention his foreign residence, echoing numerous inscriptions by painterly predecessors who wistfully invoked their own political exile. In the present lot for example, Li wrote in the Song dynasty lyric-metre-style. According to the inscription, this painting and the poem were made in Canada at his home.Li's works have been exhibited widely, including at the University Museum and Art Gallery at the University of Hong Kong, Saatchi Gallery in London, and the He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen.Compare with a related painting by Li Xubai, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2022, lot 1010.