Jia Aili was born in Dandong, Liaoning province, in 1979. He studied at the New Representationalism Studio of the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, and subsequently graduated from the Research Institute of the Academy. He taught at the Shenyang Academy from 2005 to 2007. He lives and works in Beijing.
Most of his oil paintings focus on the dramatic technological transformation that has taken place in China over the past 50 years – the rapid urbanisation, and the negative consequences for populations and for the environment.
In 2008 Jia participated in Farewell to Past Colonialism at the 3rd Guangdong Triennial. This was followed in 2010 by Make Believe… at the Institute of International Visual Arts in London. Then came Good Morning, World!, He Xiangning Art Museum OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, Shenzhen (2010), and collateral events at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. Seeker of Hope took place at the Singapore Art Museum in 2012; Jia Aili at the Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi, Venice (2015) and at the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain (2017). In 2019, he participated in a number of group exhibitions: Under Construction, Tank Shanghai Project Space, Shanghai; IMPART Collectors’ Show: Fabulous Monsters, ArtScience Museum, Singapore.