Li Xinmo, an artist, critic, and curator, was born in 1976 in Yilan, Heilongjiang Province, China. She graduated with a Master's degree from the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in 2008.
Her art, involving multiple media such as performance, painting, and AI art, explores themes of memory, dreams, and the subconscious through scripts, images, installations, and live art. Her works, primarily addressing gender, identity, ecology and Posthuman, have been exhibited at the East Asian Museum, the World Culture Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden, the Women’s Museum in Bonn, Germany, the Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg, Austria, the Lillehammer Art Museum in Norway, and the Ipswich Museum (CIMS) in London, UK. She has also participated in a series of art events, such as the Toronto Biennial and the China & Europe International Arts Biennial in Prague.
Her works are collected by the Östasiatiska Museet (in Sweden) and collectors from Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, and other countries. She was also honored with a special artist recognition by UN Women. She has published articles in art journals such as National Arts and Oriental Art Master. She curated "Heterogeneous Body," a feminist art exhibition, "Performance Art and Postmodern Theater" at UCCA in 2017, "Map and Territory," an international art exhibition in 2018, and "In China," a German art exhibition at the German Embassy in Beijing.
Li Xinmo's Art
Phase One: Exploration of Traditional Chinese Art and Philosophy
Li Xinmo began studying calligraphy and Chinese painting at a young age. She graduated in 1997 from the Fine Arts Education Department of Harbin Normal University. From 1998 to 1999, she furthered her studies at the Chinese Painting Department of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. Between 2001 and 2002, she studied calligraphy under Chen Guobin and Zhang Yuxiang at the Guangxi Academy of Painting and published Li Xinmo's Copy of Yang Ning Shi's Jiu Hua Tie.
In 2005, she was accepted into the graduate program of the Chinese Painting Department at Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts while simultaneously teaching in the Comprehensive Painting Department of the Modern Art College, where she taught "Contemporary Symbol Transformation in Calligraphy." Li Xinmo’s calligraphy evolved from traditional styles to modern interpretations, blending tradition with modern characteristics. In 2018, she was invited by the Swedish East Asian Museum to participate in the major East Asian art exhibition Paper Stories. Li Xinmo exhibited a large-scale calligraphy installation and performance piece Writing Scripture – Woman, which became a representative work that blends Chinese calligraphy with contemporary art concepts.
Phase Two: Reflecting Social Realities and Personal Narratives through Contemporary Art
Starting in 2006, Li Xinmo turned to contemporary art. From social realities to personal narratives, she used photography, video, and performance art to present her critiques and reflections on society. She focused on themes such as ecology, gender, social justice, and psychoanalysis, incorporating these ideas into her artistic practice. Combining elements of theater and performance, she created a unique poetic theater.
Her ecofeminist works, The Death of the Xinkai River and A Farewell Ceremony, juxtapose river pollution with the plight of women, using beautiful yet harsh visual imagery to reveal the dark realities hidden beneath social appearances. Another representative work is the Menstrual Blood Painting series, where she used her own menstrual blood to create self-portraits and nude portraits of women. This series, created from 2009 to 2019, continued for ten years and challenged social taboos while expressing the female body and real experiences, such as the pain of abortion and childbirth. The series became an important piece in the feminist art history and gained widespread international attention. The Menstrual Blood Painting series was exhibited at the Women's Museum in Germany, the Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg, Norway’s Lillehammer Art Museum, and the Ipswich Museum in London, UK.
In 2021, Li Xinmo began the WOYESHI art project, intervening in incidents of sexual assault from a psychoanalytic perspective, using art as a form of healing, and launching the WOYESHI performance theater.
In 2012, Li Xinmo participated in the feminist art group "Bald Girls," which held a series of feminist exhibitions at the Iberia Contemporary Art Center in Beijing, the Women's Museum in Germany, and the Contemporary Art Center in Bogotá, Colombia. "Bald Girls" became the only Chinese feminist artist group to explicitly voice women's rights and advocate for women.
Phase Three: Collaborating with Artificial Intelligence to Create Early AI Artworks
Starting in 2013, Li Xinmo created a series of hand-drawn works in Germany, using ballpoint pens on paper. These drawings, coming from her imagination, sought to break the boundaries between humans and nature, combining humans, animals, and plants to create post-human visual imagery. In 2015, the DeepDream algorithm, based on artificial neural networks, transformed human input images into machine-recognized images, creating dreamlike, surreal visuals by combining deep learning with the system’s generation. Li Xinmo used DeepDream to reinterpret her hand-drawn works, transforming them into a series of futuristic visuals. This series, called Daydreams, lasted for ten years and became a representative work of early AI art. The works were exhibited in China, Germany in Frankfurt, Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Zurich, Switzerland. In 2024, the catalog Daydreams was published on Amazon.
2024
27th April
Participated in "BIOS: Embodied Environments", Riverside Art Center, Chongqing, China.
27th July
Participated in " FATHER, HOW DO WE TALK ABOUT HIM", JCAM Art Museum, Chengdu, China.
2023
1th April
"Stepping Out! Female Identities in Chinese Contemporary Art" at the Salzburg Museum der Moderne in Salzburg, Austria.
30th May
Participated in "Pastoral, A Look Back:Cultivating and Enriching Civilisation" Art Exhibition, Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Chengdu, China.
6th September
Participated in the 3rd Xu Liaoyuan Museum Biennale: "Object Sense Star Grove: Against Symbolic Domination", Xu Liaoyuan Museum, Chengdu, China.
17th October
Participated in "The 4th Chinese Women Artists Video Art Festival", Cine Morelos, Mexico.
November 27th - 17th November
Residency at Superbude, Vienna, Austria.
10th-17th November
Participation in "Vienna Art Week", Vienna, Austria.
15th December
"Chengdu Art Exhibition, A4 Art Museum, Chengdu, China.
2022
8th March
"The international group exhibition Ola - Her World", organised by Ola Gallery and UAAF, Hangzhou, China.
30th April
"Image-nation Art Exhibition, Escapement Art Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland.
13th May
"Stepping Out! Female Identities in Chinese Contemporary Art", Lillehammer Art Museum, Oslo, Norway.
16th June
"Overlapping Kassel", Kassel, Germany.
30th June
The 9th Cheongju International Modern Art Exhibition 2022 - New Coordinates of Korean-Chinese Modern Art, Seolma Art Museum, Korea.
14th July
10th anniversary exhibition of "Bald Girl - Chain Reaction", Hansaallee Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany.
30th July
Georgia Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Georgia.
6th August
"We Are Together", an online exhibition organised by the Chinese American Feminist Art League.
30th September
"AND THE PURSUIT OF", Asian Art Institute, Chicago, USA.
1st October
Li Xinmo Solo exhibition "Xinmo Theatre - I am my own theatre", Xu Liaoyuan Modern Museum, Chengdu, China.
17th October
"UP-ON International Live Art Festival", Guanghui Art Museum, Chengdu, China.
17th November
"Exodus! Female Identities in Chinese Contemporary Art", Gamle Strand International Art Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark.
18th November
"The first Chengdu International Photography Week", Chengdu Tianfu Art Museum, Chengdu China.
26th November
"Be a Hot Firefly", organised by UN Women, Cai Guanshun Cultural Exchange Centre - Baiyun Pavilion, Beijing
2021
19th December
"Metamorphosis", East Side Mall (EG-W), Berlin, Germany.
4th November
"The 8th Chengdu Creative Design Week", Chengdu, China.
23rd October
"Visual Theatre" Biennale, Xu Liaoyuan Modern Museum, Chengdu, China.
31th July
"FLYWAY Sino-British Mental Health Art Exhibition", Wisdom Bay Venture Park, Shanghai, China.
May 27th - May 29th
"Queer in Chinese-speaking Art - Online Bilingual Workshop", University of Zurich, Switzerland.
2020
20th September
"WITH ME - International Feminist Reproduction Continuous Solo Exhibition", online.
10th June
"Presence 2 international online exhibition of women's art" Online.
2019
January
"How to Breathe Forever - International Art Exhibition", ONSITE Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada.
February
"Skin - Feminist Art Exhibition", QUINNC Gallery, New York, USA.
March
"The Nest Project - Women’s Art Exhibition", Zero Space, Beijing, China.
April
"Odyssey - Return: 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Ireland and China", Dongyue Art Museum, Beijing, China.
May
"Caring for All - Contemporary Art Exhibition", Czech China Contemporary Art Museum, Beijing, China.
December
"Art of Action - International Human Rights Day Art Exhibition", EU Embassy, Beijing, China.
2018
January
"Landscape - 2018 International Art Exchange Exhibition", 699 Art Space, Nanchang, China.
April
"Mortgaged Time - International Art Exhibition", Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China.
"Contemporary Chinese works on paper Exhibition", Ipswich Museum (CIMS), London, UK.
"Art Beijing", Contemporary art fair, Beijing, China.
May
The Jiangxi Mippei International Performance Art Festival, Mippei, China.
"NEW LEGAL ALIENS - International Art Exhibition", Yan Huang Art Museum, Beijing, China.
"Existence - International Women’s Art Exhibition", Meixi Academy, Changsha, China.
the "Frankfurt International Performance Art Festival", Mercedes Space, Frankfurt, Germany.
June
"Capital @ Art - International Art Exhibition", Mercedes Space, Frankfurt, Germany.
July
"The Story of Paper - Far Eastern Museum Collection", Far Eastern Museum, Stockholm, Sweden.
October
the UP-ON International Performance Art Festival, Chengdu, China.
December
"Art Action 1998-2018 Performance Art of the World Documenta", Quebec, Canada.
2017
March
"Allusion - Contemporary Women’s Art Exhibition", Tree Gallery, Beijing.
April
"GAN and GAN Meibei International Performance Art Festival", Meibei, Jiangxi, China.
September
"International Youth Art Week of China / Virtual Workshop / Visual Art Exhibition", Hefei Cultural Center, Hefei, China.
"China-Europe International Art Biennale Of Prague", Prague, Czech Republic.
"I Have No Enemies and No Hatred - Contemporary Chinese Art", ANYA ANDREW SHIVA Gallery, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, New York, USA.
December
Curator of "Performance Art and Postmodern Theatre - Live Performance and Forum", UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China.
2016
August
"Ecology - Art - Human - Chinese Contemporary Ecological Art", Hebei Art Museum, Shijiazhuang, China.
October
"International Performance Day", Goethe-Institut, Beijing, China.
November
"Dante in China - Contemporary Art Exhibition", Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
"Thirty Years of Chinese Performance Art Documentary Exhibition", Minsheng Art Museum, Beijing, China.
December
"Performance - Reproduction", Beijing Commercial Press, Hanfen Lou, Beijing, China.
2015
January
"IN ANOTHER PLACE, AND HERE - International Photography Exhibition", Victoria Gallery, Victoria, Canada.
March
"EXCLUDED", Li Xinmo Solo Exhibition KAISER&CREAM Gallery, Wiesbaden, Germany.
September
"ARTRESS - International Women’s Contemporary Art Exhibition", The Research House. for Asian Art, Chicago, USA.
October
Contemporary theatre play "Mirror of Time", One Way Space, Beijing, China.
November
"If You’re Well - Feminist Art Exhibition" organized by UN Women, UN Women’s Awarded A rtist, European Union Embassy, Austrian Embassy
in Beijing, China.
December
"Stifled! More than Smog - Contemporary Art Exhibition", Beijing Tree Gallery, Tianjin Sanyuan Contemporary Art Center, Hebei Art Museum, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, China.
2014
April
"Single Mothers - International Feminist Exhibition", Women’s Museum in Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
May
"THROUGH THE BODY - Chinese Women’s Photography Exhibition, Toronto Photo Biennial", University of Toronto Art Gallery, Toronto, Canada.
June
"SWITCH - Contemporary Art Exhibition",
Xian Contemporary Art Museum, Xian, China.
"Pink Solution - BALD GIRLS Art Exhibition", FUNDACIÓN LIA BOGOTÁ, Bogotá, Colombia.
December
"Guangzhou Live 5 - International Performance Art Festival", Xiaozhou Auditorium, Guangzhou, China.
2013
April
"SECRET LOVE - Contemporary Chinese Art", World Culture Museum, Gothenburg, Sweden.
May
"A Door - BALD GIRLS Women’s Group Exhibition", Beijing Zajia Lab Space, Beijing, China.
June
"Theatre and Performance Rape", Kubrick Bookstore, Beijing, China.
2012
January
"UN FORBIDDEN CITY - Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition", MACRO Gallery, Rome, Italy.
The "Centenary of Chinese Ink Painting" exhibition, Louvre, Paris, France.
March
"BALD GIRLS - Feminist Art Exhibition", Iberia Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China.
2011
October
"Li Xinmo" Solo exhibition, Tense Space, Beijing, China.
November
"Li Xinmo and Qing Shui Huimei Performance Art Exhibition", Dingshun Art Space, Beijing, China.
2010
April
"Archive of Contemporary Video Art in 2010", Songzhuang Art Museum, Beijing, China.
May
"Oaths of Love - Photography Exhibition", Wenjin International Gallery, Beijing, China.
2009
January
"Chinese Sickmen - Contemporary Chinese Art", Post-Century Gallery, New York, USA.
July
"Turning and Associations - Contemporary Ink Painting Exhibition", Ring of Iron Age Art Museum, Beijing, China.
August
"Xi’an International Contemporary Art Fair", Qujiang Art Museum, Xi’an, China.
December
"Collaboration - Contemporary Video and
Performance", Other Galleries, Beijing, China.
2008
August
"Major Exhibition of Young Artists", Dolun Art Museum, Shanghai, China.
September
the International Contemporary Art Exhibition, Shang Shang Art Museum, Songzhuang, Beijing, China.
October
"Avenue Live - International Performance Art Festival", Rain Gallery, Beijing, China.
November
"Italian Video Art and Performance", Yuanfen Gallery, Beijing, China.
December
"21 Century Ink Painting - Exhibition", Art Museum of China, Beijing, China.
2007
January
"I want to breathe" Li Xinmo Solo Exhibition , Juhua Space, Shanghai, China.
April
"Breath" Major Exhibition, Shandong Museum, Jinan, China.