Photographs by NATALIE BEHRING/New York Times

–

This is a portrait of LI SHURUI, a contemporary Chinese artist whom the New York Times says is “quietly emerging” as a talent within the male-dominated Chinese art world.

LI SHURUI, born in 1981, began her career while still an undergraduate with an ambitious outdoor installation. It consisted of a long line of fabric cubes that stretched across a lake in a remote part of Yunnan Province inhabited by a matriarchal ethnic minority. Although she has since become best known for her paintings — air-brushed, semi-abstract images of music club interiors  — she stood out in a recent gallery group show for an installation work that suggested a cross between a Minimalist environment illuminated by fluorescent lights and an open elevator stuck between floors.

I really like this picture because, although the mask could double as a muzzle, there is nothing quiet about LI SHURUI in this photograph!

Below, a small selection of LI SHURUI‘s work:

–

Untitled No.2. Acrylic on Canvas. 180x240cm

–

Lawn in the Glow (by LI SHURUI & ZHOU SIWEI). Acrylic on Canvas. 180x240cm

–

Lights No.86. Acrylic on Canvas. 100x300cm

–

20100315. Acrylic on Paper. 37x53cm

–

Read more about China’s Female artists who quietly emerge via http://www.nytimes.com/

–