On May 25, 2025, O2art will present CHASE, a solo exhibition by Li Zhan, a leading voice among the younger generation of realist sculptors, and his intricately carved wood portraits garnered widespread acclaim. This exhibition unveils his latest works after a decade of dedicated exploration, marking his first solo gallery show since 2014.

Captivated by wood's organic nature, Li defines sculpture as "a forceful contest with the object," an act uniting the physicality of carving with a profound connection to the essence of the material. Wood's fibrous texture imposes its own creative logic, echoing Henry Moore's abstraction of natural forms while resonating with the minimalist refinement of classical Chinese woodcarving, where "a few deft strokes" suffice to reveal the soul.

In spatial composition, Li disrupts traditional sculpture's homogeneous order, employing hollowed-out and segmented elements to construct open spaces that merge architectural rigor with bodily perception. By manipulating scale and space, his works balance the restrained traditions of woodcarving with the confrontational language of contemporary sculpture. Here, distinct cultural principles collide so that each sculpture is more than an isolate "object", but asserting itself as a presence that defines the space around it. Forgoing preliminary sketches, Li embraces improvisation, engaging in a dynamic contest between intention and wood's feedback, hence each piece becomes a co-creation by the artist and the material. His bestial and human forms direct viewers to the essence of creation while probing philosophical questions of dialogues between individual identities. The exhibition will last until July 1, 2025.