MA Li (馬力)

MA Li was born in 1958 in Yunnan Province, China.  A physician turned woodblock artist, Ma — together with ZHENG Xu, HE Kun, WEI Qicong, and ZHANG Xiaochun — founded a distinctive woodblock school at Simao, Yunnan.  The “waste-block” overprint techniques pioneered by this school achieved international fame and had a profound influence on the development of woodblock artistry in China.  Ma was the recipient of consecutive Silver Awards in the fifteenth and sixteenth National Print Exhibitions.

Mountains are an eternal theme in the arts but the mountains created by Ma can still evoke a new thrill.  Looking at these vivid, magnificent mountains is like basking in spring sunshine and delightful breezes accompanied by a cheerful melody.  The vitality of the scenery both comforts and inspires.  As an artist, Ma is able to convert his feeling for nature into a timeless image that is harmonious, pure, and tranquil; one that soothes the viewer even while inspiring passion for life.

My Feelings for Mountains (by Ma Li)

I grew up in a small town surrounded by mountains in the Yunnan frontier.  “Screened by thousands of mountain peaks, a solitude town has its door shut under the setting sun” – this is a scene described by the famous Sung dynasty scholar Fan Zhongyan.  Though not as deserted, our town is screened by mountains which are the only background of what we see all day long.  Mountains inspired our pursuit for eternity in life and our faith in this persistent pursuit.  If you were to study mountains calmly, you will find noble purity, quiet grandeur, and dignified simplicity in them.  Hiding in their balanced tempo were stability and persistence, strengths that come from the bottom of life itself.  My creations are based on my passions for mountains.  It is a treasure where images and impressions are discovered abundantly.  The feelings and appreciation for mountains is my artistic language, while the soul of the mountains is the soul of my artworks.