Born in 1963 in Beijing, Ji was separated from his parents at an early age and grew up with his grandparents outside of Hangzhou on a collective farm. With the absence of television and radio, he grew up listening to his grandmother telling him ghost stories and folk tales, while his grandfather introduced him to calligraphy. Today, the artist, who studied in the States in the 80s, use landscape painting to explore the utopian ideals of Chinese history, from past collectivization to new consumerism. In his new body of work, Ji continues to reference the historical in order to connect with the contemporary while revisiting the folk legends he grew up with and also exploring classical texts such as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, a well-known collection of 18th century ghost stories by Pu Songling. Ji's paintings are populated by animal spirits and monsters, taking his inspiration from these tales to offer a critique on corruption, abuse and greed. This exhibition include new paintings on paper as well as the artist's recent major print project, a 32-foot long hand scroll, The Three Gorges Dam Migration, published by the Library Council of The Museum of Modern Art, New YorkBorn in 1963 in Beijing, Ji was separated from his parents at an early age and grew up with his grandparents outside of Hangzhou on a collective farm. With the absence of television and radio, he grew up listening to his grandmother telling him ghost stories and folk tales, while his grandfather introduced him to calligraphy. Today, the artist, who studied in the States in the 80s, use landscape painting to explore the utopian ideals of Chinese history, from past collectivization to new consumerism. In his new body of work, Ji continues to reference the historical in order to connect with the contemporary while revisiting the folk legends he grew up with and also exploring classical texts such as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, a well-known collection of 18th century ghost stories by Pu Songling. Ji's paintings are populated by animal spirits and monsters, taking his inspiration from these tales to offer a critique on corruption, abuse and greed. This exhibition include new paintings on paper as well as the artist's recent major print project, a 32-foot long hand scroll, The Three Gorges Dam Migration, published by the Library Council of The Museum of Modern Art, New York