Li Ran (b. 1986, Hubei) currently lives and works in Shanghai, China.

Li Ran is an artist known for his performances and pseudo-documentaries that investigate the institutions of art history and contemporary art. Employing mimicry, repetition and satire to blur the boundaries between reality and fiction, Li draws attention to dominant narratives that have been accepted as truth.

Li has participated in many important exhibitions, festivals and biennials, including: “The Racing Will Continue, The Dancing Will Stay”, Times Museum, Guangzhou (CN, 2019); “Remapping Reality, Selected Video Collection from Wang Bing”, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, Shanghai (CN, 2019); “Metageography: Orientaklism and Dreams of Robinsons”, ZARYA Center for Contemporary Art, Vladivostok, (RU, 2018); “The Making of an Institution”, NTU Center For Contemporary Art Singapore (SG, 2017); “Museum no/off – Encounters with Pompidou”, Center Pompidou-ESPACE, Pairs (FR, 2016); “Soil and Stones, Souls and Songs”, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila (PH, 2016); “From A Poem to The Sunset”, Daimler Contemporary, Berlin (DE, 2015); Solo Exhibition “Re-projecting – One or Many Roles”, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal (OCAT Xi’an), Xi’an (CN, 2015); Solo Exhibition “One Man One Night”, Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco, CA (US, 2015); “Looking Forward”, La Biennale de Montréal, Montreal (CA, 2014); “A Time For Dreams – IV Moscow International Biennale For Young Art”, The Museum of Moscow, Moscow (RU, 2014); Biennale of Moving Images, Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, Geneva (CH, 2014); “Many Place at Once, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts”, San Francisco, CA (US, 2014); “FORMER WEST: Notes from Berlin”, basis voor actuele kunst (BAK), Utrecht (NL, 2013).

Li Ran was nominated for “THE 12th Award of Art China”, The Forbidden City, Beijing (CN, 2018); nominated for “Future Generation Art Prize”, Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev (UA, 2017); the winner of “Best Artist”, IV Moscow International Biennale For Young Art, The Museum of Moscow, Moscow (RU, 2014) and finalist of “Pierre Huber Prize”, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal (OCAT Shanghai), Shanghai (CN, 2014)