The Year of The Fire Horse
Chinese or Lunar New Year marks the coming of Spring and the rebirth of a new year, bringing with it prosperity and fertility.
With this season's theme of rebirth we felt that the Year of the Fire Horse was the perfect time to celebrate everything that makes this year special by highlighting some exclusive creations by nine up and coming Chinese Artist.
These young artists bring their our spirit and expression to their works in various mediums. Some are bold and bright, others are muted and thoughtful; all are daring and delightful.
Huang Wang
01
Danli Ma
02
Title: Untitled
Artist: Danli Ma
Medium: Digital Painting
Year: 2026
In this imaginative series, Danli Ma transforms twelve characters from traditional Chinese opera; the figures, originally portrayed as deities and demons, are reinterpreted into animals from the Chinese zodiac. Blending culture and tradition.
Created in the context of the Year of the Horse, the work invites viewers to reconsider the horse not only as a symbol of speed and strength, but also as a metaphor for agency, spectatorship, and collective consciousness in contemporary society.
Title: Galloping Discourse
Artist: Huang Wang
Medium: Digital illustration
Year: 2026
Title: Untitled
Artist: Xie Shiyi
Medium: Digital Painting
Year: 2026
Xie Shiyi has chosen to combine themes by creating a work that integrates an individual zodiac animal with the symbolic and cultural elements of the Year of the Horse. Xie Shiyi’s piece explores the connection between traditional zodiac meanings and contemporary artistic expression, reflecting the spirit of renewal, movement, and cultural storytelling associated with the Spring season.
Li Xueer
04
Xie Shiyi
03
Title: 腾飞 (Take Off)
Artist: Li Xueer
Medium: Digital Painting
Year: 2026
The word “腾飞”（take off）in Chinese most directly means the rapid ascent or flight of an object or creature.
In modern usage, it is often used to metaphorically describe the leapfrog progress and remarkable development achieved by individuals, careers, economies, or regions within a short period. This development is not a slow climb but rather like a bird taking flight with a powerful burst of energy and hope. The lower right corner of the character “腾飞”（take off）is composed of the Chinese character“马” （horse）
Meanwhile, the use of swallows in the imagery references the traditional Chinese cultural artifact "Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow" (see the final sculpture). Objects viewed from the angle of a galloping horse are typically interpreted as a swallow, symbolizing that the horse runs so fast it can even step on the swallow's back, cleverly echoing the theme of "take off."
The work integrates the techniques of Chinese ink painting, mural, and paper-cutting.
Chenjian Bowen
05
Title: Untitled
Artist: Chenjian Bowen
Medium: Chinese Wash and Ink (Shuimo Xieyi)
Year: 2026
This piece draws inspiration from the profound poetic imagery of the "White Horse" in classical Chinese philosophy. As evoked in Zhuangzi, the white horse often serves as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of time—likened to a shadow glimpsed through a narrow crevice (Baiju Guoxi).
In this ink rendering, that very "light" which symbolizes the ephemeral as a silent white horse. However, a deliberate paradox unfolds: this symbol of transience stands in a state of absolute stillness—calm as an unruffled ancient well—bathed in the eternal, cold moonlight that has remained unchanged for millennia.
Through the sparse brushwork and vast negative space, the work explores the tension between the fleeting moment and the eternal void, inviting the viewer into a realm of profound solitude and meditative calm.
Yu Liu & Lief
06
Title: Untitled
Artist: Yu Liu & Lief
Medium: Digital Illustration
Year: 2026
By combining representative French items with the twelve Chinese zodiac symbols through form reorganization and shape integration, Yu Liu & Lief created a series of Chinese-French cultural exchange works centered around the twelve zodiac signs.
Bella
07
Title: Untitled
Artist: Bella
Medium: 3D modeling & printing
Year: 2026
These two works draw inspiration from the Five Elements (Wu Xing) of traditional Chinese philosophy, using 3D printing technology to transform traditional zodiac symbols and natural imagery into a contemporary sculptural language. The stillness of the rabbit and the dynamism of the tiger, the softness of water and the firmness of wood, engage in dialogue through the sheen and color of the materials—both a modern translation of Eastern philosophy and a dual metaphor for the states of life.
Zhang Zhiwei
08
Title: Untitled
Artist: Zhang Zhiwei
Medium: Digital Illustration
Year: 2026
This illustration creates a free and relaxed world, in which the ponies are exchanging New Year greetings (red envelopes) with each other, and the forest is decorated with New Year-related ornaments (red lanterns). The colors used in the picture are bright and vivid, aiming to create a lively and warm scene of a new year, filled with nature and love.
Li Zihong
09
Title: Good Fortune in the Year of the Horse
Artist: Li Zihong
Medium: Ink on red paper
Year: 2026
This work is a set of Spring Festival calligraphy couplets created for the Year of the Horse. The horizontal inscription “Good Fortune in the Year of the Horse” conveys auspicious blessings for the new year. The vertical couplets read “Peace and health in the spring season” and “Good luck and success in the Year of the Horse,” symbolizing harmony, prosperity, and well-being.
Written in ink on red paper, the work continues the traditional Chinese custom of posting Spring Festival couplets during the Lunar New Year. Through calligraphy and festive symbolism, the piece reflects cultural expressions of hope, fortune, and renewal.