About Li Qiang

Li Qiang was born in October 1968. His was raised in a family of teachers and educators. He graduated from Shandong University of Arts in 1992, majoring in art education. He has been teaching students ever since. He now lives in Jinan, Shandong, China.

Though he works with Xuan paper and Chinese ink, he describes his inspiration as mainly Western. He draws inspirations from German Expressionism, the School of London, and the Spanish masters Velázquez and Goya. Qiang sees the human figure as a site of psychological intensity and emotional truth. His paintings engage with the expressive distortions of Baselitz, Bacon, and Picasso while paying attention to the observational rigor of Velázquez and Freud.