Time: 21 July - 18 August, 2026
Location: Gallery 2, 3
Co-hosted by the Oil Painting Art Committee of the China Artists Association, the China Oil Painting Society, and the Ningbo Museum of Art, with academic support from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Beijing Fine Art Academy, the duo solo exhibitions of Li Jiangfeng and Ma Jiawei open on July 21, 2026, in Gallery 2 and Gallery 3 of the Ningbo Museum of Art.
Jiangfeng Painting "The Stones in Kurdening", Ma Jiawei
The Stones in Kurdening, Li Jiangfeng
Taking the distinct observational perspectives of the two artists during a shared plein-air sketching trip as its narrative starting point, the exhibitions unfold along two independent yet mutually illuminating creative threads — "Sprawing" and "Restrained". Together, these threads present the artists' sustained explorations in recent years into the language of oil painting, the perception of life, and visual experience. The exhibitions feature nearly 300 works, making them the most extensive solo presentation for both artists to date.
Translating Form into Realm-The Woods, Li Jiangfeng, oil on canvas, 200x200cm, 2021
Li Jiangfeng’s exhibition revolves around “Sprawing.” Rather than treating nature as a mere object of depiction, the artist employs it as a medium through which to express a life philosophy of ceaseless vitality.
Blossoming in Solitary Fragrance, Li Jiangfeng, oil on canvas, 200x560cm, 2026
She integrates the calligraphic brushwork intrinsic to traditional Chinese freehand painting into the language of oil painting, allowing colour, texture, and space to emerge organically on the canvas and giving rise to visual structures brimming with life.
The Azure and The Verdure (part), Li Jiangfeng, 280×1680cm, 2026
The large-scale new work, The Azure and The Verdue, adopts the imagery of a surreal coastal forest. The trees constantly extend beyond the picture, blurring the boundaries among sky, sea, and land, as if linking the gallery space with Ningbo’s unending coastline. In doing so, the work transcends landscape representation and becomes a metaphor for the flow of time and the unfolding of life.
The Distance, Ma Jiawei, mixed media, dia. 200cm, 2012
Ma Jiawei’s exhibition focuses on the act of viewing itself. Entitled "Restrained", the title suggests that viewing does not end with what is seen; rather, through sustained gazing, new layers of perception are opened up.
Indefinable (part), Ma Jiawei, mixed media, 60×60cm×94, 2026
The artist has long been attentive to subtle shifts within defined boundaries. From urban landscapes to monochromatic paintings and cross-media experiments, she has persistently explored how visual experience is generated, and the role played by the interplay between order and chance within that process.
Leap, Ma Jiawei, oil on canvas, 640cmX320cm, 2026
Her new works on display, Indefinable and Leap, use the swimming pool as a medium, presenting the indeterminate disturbances stirred by light, water ripples, and the intervention of objects within a space of fixed boundaries. These constantly changing visual forms both defer the completion of viewing and enable the viewer, through repeated pauses, to attain a deeper and more profound visual experience.
Big White Goose Under the Blossoms, Li Jiangfeng, oil on canvas, 200x200cm, 2025
Although the two artists follow different creative paths, both understand painting as an ongoing and generative process. Li Jiangfeng is concerned with how life grows through time, while Ma Jiawei is concerned with how viewing is generated through the act of gazing. In response to these artistic concepts, during the exhibitions, the two artists will also engage in live creation within the gallery spaces: Li Jiangfeng will take the natural scenery of Ningbo as her subject, revealing the growing process of painting through sketching; Ma Jiawei, under the theme of “painting within a painting,” will incorporate the works, the space, and the audience into the canvas, guiding the viewer’s gaze from the object itself toward an awareness of their own position.
Against the Wind NO. 1, Ma Jiawei, oil on canvas, 320X180cm, 2015
The two solo exhibitions each maintain their own complete academic integrity while reflecting and illuminating one another within the same space — beginning with a shared experience and extending through live creation, the exhibitions become a continuously unfolding work.
