Ying Li: Quintessence

From Valley House Gallery:

“Valley House Gallery presents Ying Li’s first solo exhibition in Texas.

Born in Beijing, China, Ying Li studied painting at Anhui Teachers University (1974-77) where she taught (1977-83) before immigrating to the USA in 1983. She received an MFA from Parsons School of Design, New York, in 1987. Li has taught at Haverford College since 1997 and holds an endowed chair as The Phlyssa Koshland Professor of Fine Arts.

About the paintings in this exhibition, Ying Li states:

“The rhythm of my painting is a dance of brushwork based on training in Chinese calligraphy. I strive to reveal resonances where abstraction and representation merge, reflecting the heart and spirit. Things that exist in alternate dimensions come to life with oil and canvas. The unseen becomes visible while the visible unlocks perception at the core of essence.“

“Since arriving in the United States I have been fascinated with Jazz music and musicians. The culture of Jazz is the expansion of freedom and this really resonated with me coming from the era of repression during the Cultural Revolution in China. Freedom allows the expansion of consciousness and this is exactly what I want to capture in my drawing. The sound becomes visible, and the energy, motion, and improvisation are captured in the moment with ink and paper.“

Ying Li maintains studios in New York City and Haverford, Pennsylvania. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Artforum, and Art in America, among others. She has had solo exhibitions in New York, Maine, Florida, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Georgia, New Hampshire, Ohio, New Jersey, Switzerland, Italy, and Ireland.”