LI JIN (b.1958) Health, 2005LI JIN (b.1958)Health, 2005Ink on paper, with calligraphic inscription and seal of the artist, glazed and framed. 45cm wide x 38cm high (17 3/4in wide x 15in high). 李津（1958年生） 中華有神功 水墨紙本 鏡框 2005年作Li Jin and his work belongs to the 'New Literati' movement of Chinese ink painting but are more quirky than most, exuding a hedonistic and charming appreciation for the simple things in life, notably food, wine and sex, but also bathing and sleeping etc. Before his study in the Painting Department at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, where he now teaches, Li Studied dyeing and weaving at the Tianjin Academy of Arts and Crafts, which partly explains his mastery of pattern and colour. His aunt was Zhou Sicong (1939-1996), an important ink painter who often made use of bleeding colour or ink. This technique can often be seen in Li's own paintings which hint at insouciance but, like all good literati painting, could not be created without mastery of the brush. Li Jin gradually formed his uniquely playful style in the early 1990s, and is now famous for his humour and seductive depictions of the good life. In contrast to the formality and stereotyped subjects of historical literati paintings - often derived from famous texts, pictures by earlier masters, or both - food and wine and the simple things in today's life are Li's subject matter. The Falstaffian figure that appears repeatedly in his work is modelled on himself. For more on Li Jin, see China Onward: The Estella Collection, Chinese Contemporary Art, 1966-2006, Humlebaek, 2007, pp.148-150.The present lot is typical of the artist's humour. The inscription reads: 中华有神功, which may be translated as 'Amazing Kungfu in China' and is actually taken from a popular song by Tu Honggang. It depicts an ailing figure with pain in his expression as the skin on his back is pulled by the heated glass bulbs for moxibustion, exhibiting Li Jin's unique mix of tradition, modernity and humour.Li Jin's paintings are in several important institutions and collections globally, including the National Arts Museum, Beijing; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Olenska Collection, Geneva; Seattle Art Museum; and the Berkeley Art Museum.