Nianxin Li’s (b. 1999, Chongqing, China) practice begins with feelings of disconnection between the purpose and methods of her early education and family life. This series of works discusses the possibility of various parts actively or passively staying in the same space and questions the traditional framework of prioritizing familial relationships.

The inspiration comes from her personal exploration of family gender roles and societal norms. Boundaries and emotional attachments feel abstracted and covered by colorful shapes. By recounting her family upbringing, She interpret this act in colors that make her feel intimacy and love.

Li subverts the traditional still-life genre by populating her compositions with atypical elements. There is tension in the steady plane; the objects rely on and guard against one another. Each creature shoulders different responsibilities and ignores itself. They twist and squeeze carefully to maintain balance, but behind the balance is the sinking ground, the bubble about to burst, and the life that is ignored. Though her images are streamlined, they are not simplified: multiple visual centers compete in her paintings, bright, toxic colors and neutral tones contend with one another, and various paints (such as oil, spray, and acrylic) overlap. Such visual effects create a sense of division and confrontation, but with mutual checks and balances.

Li lives and works in New York. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence for a BFA in 2017-21. She received a Master of Fine Arts, School of Visual Art, New York in 2021-23.