Rainy Tong

Biography

Qiuxiang Liu (Rainy Tong) is a painter (b. 1986, China) based in London. She is the founder of DaTong Art Lab in Shenzhen, China, and is currently
pursuing a Master’s degree in Painting at the Royal College of Art. Her
artistic practice explores the female body across painting, sculpture, performance, installation, and poetry. Rainy sees the body itself as adventure, mystery, and landscape. She portrays the bodies in dangerous, erotic, playful, and violent ways, exploring the materiality of the body, love and desire; constructing cross-cultural narratives of gender, identity fluidity while examining its dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures.

Since moving abroad, Rainy has felt a deeper connection to China, particularly traditional Chinese painting, which she considers an essential
part of her identity. As a result, she integrates elements of traditional
Chinese painting into her work, using the female body as a visual language
to establish a dialogue between Eastern traditional art and Western
contemporary art. As a modern Chinese woman and artist she aims to
break the gender constraints imposed on women by societal norms. The nude and sexual female bodies entangled in her work make the invisible visible.

Rainy had a solo exhibition, While Repeating I Love You, Nothing Will Die!, in July 2022 in China. In 2024, she participated in a residency and group exhibition at Way Out, East Gallery in London, as well as the Tiny Art Show at the Royal College of Art.

Education

MA, Royal College of Art, 2024-2025