Dongli Ma is a realistic artist who graduated from the Film and TV Stage Design School at the Communication University of China. His practice spans oil painting, mixed media, and installation art, unified by a guiding principle of perfectly matching concept with material. Through his work, he explores the transition from play to institutional structure, and the sobering intersections of society, history, and conflict.

His latest practice, ‘The Standard’, is a series of eighteen sculptural works that utilize thousands of children’s toy "sandpit soldiers" as a primary medium. By melting, folding, and molding these figures, Ma assembles sixteen standardized geometric forms, transforming the disorganized chaos of play into the rigid structures of academic training. This process signifies a profound shift from the free doodling of childhood to the "standardized" systems of adult society and the art world. For Ma, the transformation of these soldiers—once used for entertainment and war simulations—into serious geometric objects serves as a metaphor for disaster and the cruel institutionalization of the individual.

Ma has achieved significant international recognition, including the Gold Medal for "Chinese Tower of Babel" at the Salon du Carrousel du Louvre in Paris and nominations for the Wuliangye Tomorrow Sculpture Award. His work has been exhibited globally in prestigious venues such as the Arsenale di Venezia for the Arte Laguna Prize, the London Art Biennale, and major art fairs including Art Madrid, Red Dot Miami, and Artexpo New York. Through his unique "Plain Colour" style and installation practice, Dongli Ma continues to challenge the boundaries between memory, entertainment, and the serious realities of contemporary life.

Education & Training

2010

Film and TV Stage Design School, Communication University of China

Peking, China

Exhibition & Projects (Selection)

2026

NordArt 2026 – Internationale Ausstellung für zeitgenössische Kunst, Büdelsdorf, Deutschland (bevorstehend / upcoming)

Arte Laguna Finalist Exhibition, Arsenale Nord, Venedig, Italien (bevorstehend / upcoming)

Transmediale 2026, CANK, Berlin, Deutschland (bevorstehend / upcoming)

2025

Art Madrid Contemporary Art Fair, Palacio De Cibeles, Madrid, Spanien

Artexpo New York 2025, Pier 36, New York City, USA

Red Dot Miami, Circle Foundation of Arts, Miami, USA

District line #2, ArtEvol 2025, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

2024

London Design Festival, Brompton Design District, London, UK

NordArt 2024 – Internationale Ausstellung für zeitgenössische Kunst, Büdelsdorf, Deutschland

2023

London Art Biennale Finalist Exhibition, London, UK

17th Arte Laguna Prize Finalist Exhibition, Arsenale di Venezia, Venedig, Italien

2022

Factum Est, Solo Exhibition, Martin-von-Wagner-Museum, Würzburg, Deutschland

2021

Figurativas 2021, Museu Europeu d'Art Modern (MEAM), Barcelona, Spanien

2020

Bergama Stereo Variations, Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin, Deutschland

Statens kunstutstilling, Høstutstillingen, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norwegen

2019

Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Kopenhagen, Dänemark

2016

The Soul of Money, DOX Centre for Contemporary Arts, Prag, Tschechien

2009

Mother of the Disappeared, Smithsonian Institution, New York, USA