Ding Yi: The Road to Heaven – Lisson Gallery

About

For his inaugural solo exhibition at Lisson Gallery – and his first return to London in over five years – celebrated Chinese abstractionist Ding Yi presents The Road to Heaven, a new body of work unveiled ahead of Frieze Week 2025.

This exhibition draws inspiration from the history, cosmology and spiritual traditions of the Naxi people of Yunnan, blending their ancient Dongba religion with Ding Yi’s distinctive cross motif. Through drawings, paintings, and relief works, the artist reinterprets sacred manuscripts such as The Road to Heaven scroll, where the soul journeys symbolically from the earthly realm to the afterlife.

Works on Dongba paper, chiselled basswood panels, and mosaic-like abstractions expand Ding Yi’s exploration of cosmology, spirituality and cultural heritage. His compositions balance precision and intuition, geometry and ritual, the modern and the ancient.

Ding Yi’s practice has long been defined by his iconic cross motif, first adopted in 1988. This exhibition continues his lifelong investigation into abstraction while embracing new cultural and metaphysical dimensions. With The Road to Heaven, he invites viewers to step into a dialogue between two worlds – earthly and celestial, rational and poetic.

Find out more here.