Ding Shilun creates multivalent narrative paintings and drawings which are grounded in magical realism. Blending traditional Chinese painterly techniques with popularised illustration, Ding builds spectacular worlds which sincerely portray the absurdity of contemporary life. Drawing from his familial heritage, historical events and today’s news, his intricately detailed works are populated by beguiling figures who exuberantly navigate an other-worldly reality. Through Ding’s creation of new mythologies grounded in his everyday observation of urban environments and social interactions, the conflicts which arise in intimate relationships, and the experience of being an artist, his work surrenders to the uncertainty of human existence, the discomfort of holding conflicting beliefs, while simultaneously finding pleasure in its imaginative potential.
Ding received a MA from the Royal College of Art, London in 2022 and a BA from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 2020. He has exhibited at Zabludowicz Collection, London (2023); Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou (2023); with a forthcoming show at K11 Art, Shanghai in 2024.
