Li Mingzhu, China Tools, Pickaxe, Jingdezhen ceramics, 17.5" x 2" x 1.5"

Li Mingzhu's work conveys and comments on his culture's multiple layers of identity from the past to present as formed by its politics, customs, food, and art. In his words, “My work mixes the traditional and modern together, and juxtaposes them against each other”. Included in this exhibition are his carefully molded and meticulously painted porcelain farm tools, which question the romanticizing of peasant life under the socialist régime of the Mao era.

Lisa Sette Gallery. www.lisasettegallery.com