Li Gang transforms materials from the art world, nature and everyday life: canvasses, plinths, stones, trees, money and pollution. The rapid development of his hometown Dali in Yunnan province prompted the artist to ally the contemporary condition with traditional craftsmanship. Working with artisans, he creates large-scale, rug-like canvases out of hemp that enlarge the textual grain of his paintings. Accumulating layers of oil paint in tactile shades of muted intensities, Li Gang recreates sections of paintings by other artists. "In the past, I focused too much on painting technique and conceptualization, and ignored the basic forms of painting. But now, I exploit the hand-woven texture of the canvas. Through this process, the relationship between the texture of the canvas and the pigment is emphasized. It is this texture that I think produces the most unique qualities in the paintings. I hope that this method of highlighting texture provides an alternative approach, and new possibilities, in the creation of an oil painting". Li Gang