10 Questions with Lin Li
Lin Li is an independent artist born in Nanjing, China. She likes both the texture of sand and stone and the mottled feeling of watermarks, so she has been researching how to simultaneously present the simplicity of texture and the fluidity of watermarks in her pictures.
She hopes her style lies in seeking a balance between concrete and abstract. She wants to get rid of something, to give back the idea of painting itself to painting, and the contradiction of painting will be seen in her works. She tries to find a strange harmony in this contradiction and finds a space of balance between Western classical sculpture and Eastern traditional artistic conception. Struggling in this process, shading and reality are all very interesting. It was the feeling she experienced after seeing a certain object or the experience at a certain time. She puts this energy into the body of the painting and lets it carry certain memories or perceptions.
Lin Li - Portrait
INTERVIEW
First of all, tell our readers a little bit about you. Who are you, and how did you start experimenting with images?
I am an independent artist. I grew up in Nanjing, Jiangsu, and finished my undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Italy. I started drawing children's paintings as a hobby when I was young. Gradually, I discovered that painting could be used as a way to express my emotions. This also made me more and more interested in painting, so I chose to study painting at the university.
What is your personal aim as an artist?
I am a person who is often self-contradictory, and a certain moment or circumstance will suddenly make me conflict, including my works. I often add thinking about perspective in my works. I think my works are experiences at a certain moment. I hope that the viewers will be like me at that time when they visit. This is what I hope. I also hope to put more of my emotions into future works.
A peaceful afternoon, Mixed media, 50x60 cm, 2021 © Lin Li
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?
Those scattered shadows and transmitted light, as well as the atmosphere of joy or tranquility, can be my inspiration. I usually grab a point and diffuse it, such as whether this point should be smooth or not in the picture. Rough; where can it be in the picture, and then blend it into this space. I pay a lot of attention to the texture and tone of the image, two of which I usually spend a long time thinking about.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your work? Do you have any specific references?
I often visit art exhibitions and buy picture albums. I think the ideas of other artists sometimes allow me to see some new perspectives on things. In addition, I like to watch Chinese mural sculptures and foreign plaster sculptures. I sometimes treat them as objects that carry emotions.
Summer Night, Mixed media, 50x60 cm, 2022 © Lin Li
Straw Hat, Mixed media and oil, 20x20 cm, 2022 © Lin Li
In your work you mixed different influences and textures. What messages would you like to convey to the viewers?
To convey the mood of my painting at that moment, I think my painting is to pick up some color blocks or lines in a pile of chaos and reconnect them together, feeling calm in the chaos.
What is your favorite experience as an artist so far?
It should be at a final exhibition. After the exhibition, we went to the bar to chat all the time. It was a very good experience.
What do you think about the art community and market? And how do you cultivate a collector base?
The art world has always struggled to break its exclusionary structure and has strong commercial barriers. My professor told me that while painting, you must also learn to promote yourself. This era is no longer an era of pure painting. Especially under this epidemic, people will become more and more cautious.
The Showcase, Mixed media, 60x90 cm, 2022 © Lin Li
What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?
I am now working as an independent artist, I am going to do a solo exhibition next year, so I will be preparing for it now.
What is one lesson you learned recently? And how did it help you further develop your art?
I've been reading some art books recently, such as "The Art of Rediscovering", and I think the author's discussion may give me some new perspectives on how to perceive things.
Finally, share something you would like the world to know about you?
I am an easily troubled person, maybe because a little emotion will be infinitely enlarged by me and cause my troubles to suddenly change my picture. Sometimes I want to let go, and sometimes I want to restrain myself.
