Hard, muscled and primed with vigour the male figure can be all of these, but too often that's only how male bodies are presented, obscuring their subtler qualities. The cliché of the tough torso is so prevalent in this era of gym bunnies, podium dancers and pumped up models that it's quite startling to see the more tender aesthetic at play in the art of Li Ming Shun.

This New York based Chinese artist show drawings and paintings of male Asian nudes. They capture the sensuality, delicacy and languid grace that causes certain people to be attracted to Asians in the first place. And true to the polite character of the men portrayed, they'll be tantalisingly discrete.

In pencil, watercolour and charcoal which he favours because "it is powerful and allows more flow and freedom in drawing" Li is incredibly deft with line, shading and contours. His faultless proportion and perspective creates a 3-D roundedness you just want to reach out and caress. They also arouse emotions beyond the lustful, such as care, protectiveness and the dignity of a lone person making his way in the world. The provocative posing and idealisation of physiques we're fed through the media and social scene suddenly seems so false when you're faced with the bare, honest reality of the naked humans who model so naturally for Li.

That's what it's like confronting a Li Ming Shun drawing, since we're simply not used to seeing men exude sensitivity instead of braggadocio. That's not just true of the female nude bias in public art appreciation, but also among those who swoon at the male form, who succumb to a relentless visual diet of bulging pectorals, mountainous biceps, sinewy legs and trampoline stomachs. Furthermore, the context of today's naked male imagery is typically pre or post coital and often in between. Hence its prurient association in the public and private mind.

"It's the presentation and the theme surrounding male nude art that either draws a prudish reaction or elevates it to the stature of classical art," acknowledges Li, who feels part of an illustrious tradition encompassing Michelangelo, John Singer Sargent, Andrew Wyeth and Adolphe William Bougereau. "I've always enjoyed Greek art and as you know Greek sculpture was fraught with male nudes. The Christian influence made a taboo of it, but male nudes in Michelangelo's paintings were acceptable because the theme is religious. I have a new group of classical drawings that i believe will draw a high degree of acceptability, because they will not just be nude drawings but an expression of male nude art."

His talent's been recognised by prominent private, corporate and museum collections, including Armand Hammer, IBM, Occidental Petroleum and the Contemporary International Museum of Art. This achievement's not just down to draughtsmanship; it's also due to his flair for expressing character.

"I have full Asian blood and I catch the Asian feeling much faster than non Asians," said Li (who was born in 1964 in Huangshi, Hubei) to the Chinese magazine 'His'. "I see things that non-Asians don't. I feel that makes my work a little more impactful, capturing the special essence of each model."

And the essence of each nationality, for Li's preferred subject spans the oriental tropics from Singapore and Malaysia via China and Indochina to Fiji. "The customs, histories and cultures all these different elements stimulate my creativity," he enthuses. "There's an elegance that gives the Asian male a very unusual attractiveness.

There's a segment in every country that has a free attitude on this subject, but Asia's more prudish than America in its art relating to nudity," admits Li. And under the nickname Calvin, he's found artistic and personal liberation in New York's arty district of SoHo. "The big Apple vibrates with culture and, moreover, it's a multi racial, multi ethnic society that gives such a wonderful ambiance for an artist. its inspiration is intoxicating."

And through his compassionate work, Li's bringing some of that peace and humanism into the lives of anyone who buys his art, browses his books, visits his website or views this show.

Li's past work and book of Asian male drawings can be accessed via his online gallery at www.limingshun.com.

Philip Cornwel Smith