Bolan, born in 1963 in Shanxi, China, is a Han Chinese. He graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the China Academy of Art in 1987.
His artistic pursuits encompass various mediums, including oil painting, photography, video, performance art, installation, design, and mixed media. He has exhibited his works in numerous domestic and international art exhibitions. Beyond his artistic endeavors, Li has a longstanding career as an educator, teaching painting, photography, and interior and exterior space design at the university level.
He has also undertaken independent design projects, including logo design for institutions such as the Beijing Agricultural College, and served as a design consultant for various interior and exterior space projects. Additionally, Bolan is an avid collector with nearly twenty years of experience, particularly focused on Chinese historical photography. He is known for his personal collection of approximately fifty thousand old Chinese photographs and his contribution to the establishment of the Chinese Portrait Yearbook.
