03/08/2026
With Love
A Blessing for Yiran and Kankan
Curated by Lan Lan
Most gifts gradually fade with time. Only those that carry love, faith, and memory have the power to endure.
With Love began with artist Li Jia’s reflection on the meaning of a gift. When Yiran and Kankan decided to begin their life together, she wished to offer them something beyond the material—a wedding gift that could accompany them through the years ahead and gently remind them, in the rhythm of everyday life, of love, commitment, and companionship.
Her answer was art.
What began as a personal gift for two people gradually evolved into an exhibition open to the public. Four contemporary Chinese artists—Li Jia, Chen Lili, Tong Ze, and Ni Xiaomei—bring together distinct artistic voices to explore the themes of love, trust, companionship, and growth. Moving freely between the figurative and the abstract, the expressive and the poetic, each work stands on its own while resonating with the others, together forming a heartfelt artistic tribute.
Although Yiran and Kankan are not present, they remain the people to whom this exhibition is dedicated.
Art cannot preserve time itself, but it can preserve the emotions, memories, and convictions that time leaves behind. Last year, the century-old wooden house of Tallbacken Art Center witnessed a wedding. This year, it continues that blessing through an exhibition. Surrounded by forests, lakes, and the ever-changing Nordic light, the exhibition finds its place within a landscape where nature and art become part of the same experience, allowing a heartfelt gesture from China to find new meaning in another cultural setting.
The significance of With Love extends far beyond the artworks themselves.
Once a blessing offered to a newly married couple enters a public space through art, it begins to speak to others as well. Every visitor is invited to encounter the works through the lens of their own life, reflecting on love, commitment, companionship, and the enduring bonds that connect us. In this way, a deeply personal gift becomes a shared reflection on love and human connection.
The exhibition remains incomplete without its visitors.
We invite everyone to leave a few words—for the future, and for love. These messages, carrying blessings and reflections from people of different places and life experiences, will become the exhibition’s final work, as well as another gift for the newlyweds.
May this blessing, carried through art, reach many hearts beyond its original destination. And may everyone who enters the exhibition rediscover the meaning of love, commitment, and companionship. May this blessing continue to be remembered, cherished, and grow with time for many years to come.
⸻
Exhibition Information
With Love
Artists
Li Jia · Chen Lili · Tong Ze · Ni Xiaomei
Venue
Tallbacken Art Center
Verumsvägen 16
282 67 Vittsjö, Sweden
Vernissage
Lördag 22 augusti kl. 15.00–17.00
Utställningsperiod
23 augusti–12 september 2026
Öppettider
Onsdag–söndag kl. 13.00–17.00
