Li Geng has been fond of painting since his childhood, although he lived through his juvenile age in a very difficult environment. He loves reading, riding and is adept at sketching. He has worked hard to acquire the fine brushwork painting skill and reveled in wash painting. His deep attainments of classical techniques are mainly expressed by ink accumulation and sometimes the skill independent of lines.

Li Geng got his Bachelor and Master Degree in Kyoto City University of Arts, has been gradually recognized by great Japanese writer Yasushi Inoue who introduced him to literary and art circles in Japan, and he was acknowledged by the fine arts circle in 1980. Later, he was introduced into Fine Arts University for a vacancy of teaching and research with philosopher Takeshi Umehara’s invitation, and was entrusted to reopen the wash painting course repealed since Japan’s reconstruction from Asia into Europe in Meiji Reform. He was one of the several foreign instructors in 1980’s the research lab of Japanese painting, and one of the youths from Kyoto Third School.

Li Geng joined the research group led by kemy Ochi and was responsible for wash painting research. He took charge of a number of research projects in a few special areas, and introduced “wash painting credits system” in two fine arts universities of Japan. His over a decade of research with great concentration in West Germany and Japan has created new research methods such as “Materials + Performance” and “From the beginning” in teaching wash painting overseas.

Li’s “Landscape of Mind” (1982--1985), “Neo-classicism” (1985--1989), “Colored media + Grass supporter” Series (1984) (1994) called by the Japanese media and critics belong to abstract and conceptual research works.

His major works include “Ma + Coloration + Black” Series II and III, “Ink + Performance” Series II, “Night in Spain” “Italian Bridge” “West German River” “Three Bridges in the Ancient Capital” Series I & II & III, “Poets Series” “For Great Composer Mahler” Series, “Nostalgia in Xuzhou” “Poets” “Poetry” “Kakogawa”, etc.

In the early 1990s, the leadership of Japan’s Fine Arts Circle has felt the drastic changes form to performance method and unstable “institution” and “market” of fine arts. The sense of crisis urged curators of National Fine Arts Museum and art ministers from media to compose a research team, selecting outstanding artists from all over the country to create “experimental” and “avant-garde” works for annual circuit exhibitions at ten galleries in Japan. These opportunities are good platforms for collecting information and finding problems. Mr. Ochi ordered Li to submit wash paintings for this activity.

Besides painting, Li has carried profound study in Japanese painting, Tang dynasty painting, Western painting, and the development of the Early Renaissance for a long period. He regards oil painting in the early days belongs to “dancai” style. After his teaching in West Germany, he has done some study in copperplates and the early painting of Renaissance. He believes German sketching has many common points with East Painting, so he has studied early frescos in Italian Renaissance, counterdrawing Giordo, Francesco, Fran Angelico’s works, and done a special research over the Vatican frescoes with mural experts from Japan.

Through early studies in paintings of Song and Yuan Dynasties, Li presented the idea of homology and heterogeneity of paintings from these two dynasties. Later, he turned to the research in paintings of Ming and Qing Dynasties, putting forward the idea of “the enjoyment of concepts.”

Geng works can be divided into four phases----realism and lyric in the early period, expressionism, romanticism and abstract art in the second, classicism and transcendentalism in the third, and “Chenghuai (Seeking clarification of mind)” named by the art circle and critics recently. He is known as “Transparent Ink Poet," and “Ink Summoner.”