Lei Gu

Gu Lei (b. 1971, Shanghai) is a self-taught artist who began his studies at Shanghai Xingzhi Art Normal School. His early work drew inspiration from Anselm Kiefer and was marked by a focus on history, human experience, and space. Over time, engagement with Eastern Buddhism and Zen philosophy led his practice toward abstraction and the Xieyi (expressive freehand) style. He works with Chinese ink, acrylic, and freestyle woodcut, often combining these materials to develop new forms of expression. Gu Lei’s paintings explore the interplay of presence and absence, solidity and void, using fluidity, resistance, and blank space to reflect on humanity and nature.