Artist Profile - Li Li

Upon stumbling into a very small and somewhat hidden gallery yesterday in Shanghai, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a new Chinese artist by the name of Li Li. She is born, bred, and working in Chongqing, China, and her works of adorable gruesomeness are starting to turn some heads...


(click images for larger)







I wasn't really able to find a ton of info on Li Li, but she has been painting professionally for the past 5 years and has already shown in galleries in New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taipei. Her universe of overly violent (so violent that it becomes adorable) scenes makes some people laugh and others cringe, which I think is the exact beauty of her work. 爱它

Contemporary art is still very much so an underground scene in mainland China, so I was pretty shocked to find a gallery that not only held contemporary works, but also from native Chinese artists. Hong Kong's art scene is bustling and most mainlanders head there for shine, so it's nice to see the communist government let up a little bit and allow their people to express themselves.



-john-