Li’s abstract paintings explore the fluid transformations of color, light, and form, constructing an inner sense of order and spirituality. His practice is rooted in a contemplative approach, employing a meticulous dyeing technique on raw canvas that blends and echoes the traditions of Eastern and Western painting. This repetitive and meditative process becomes his pathway to philosophical inquiries into impermanence.
Li’s understanding of spatial composition is shaped by a dialogue between philosophy, language, design history, and the study of gardens. Through the reinterpretation of liúbái (to leave messages) within the canvas, he stages the painting as a medium for cultural exchange, expanding the boundaries of the subject and creating an open, introspective field of reflection.
Zhongkai Li
b.1993 Changsha, China
Currently living and working in New York City
zhongkaili.us@gmail.com
Education
2019 M.F.A., Yale School of Art
2016 B.F.A., Central Academy of Fine Arts
Artist projects
2022 Drifting Fragments, Upper Iowa University
2021 Prototype I, IS A GALLERY, Shanghai
2019 Finding Patterns in Time and Place, Maharam, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions & Screening
2022 Stranger Things, Here Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2021 The 7th International Exhibition on New Media Art, CICA Museum, Korea
2020 Undocumented events and object permanence, Noemata, Arts Council Norway
2020 The International Festival of Art and Film Books (FILAF), Perpignan, France
2019 Video Objects,Grace Street Theater, Richmond, VA
2019 Artist Screening: layers, The Bridgeport Art Trail, Bridgeport, CT
2019 You Can Get in and Not Do Anything, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
2019 Everything in the past has life, New Haven International Film Festival, New Haven, CT
Selected Bibliography
2021 Ernest Bryant, The Garden of Organic, Morphem-e-graphic Anonymity
2020 Willis Kingery & Anny Li, Zhongkai Li: Cultivating Paradise on a Universal Surface, Maharam
2020 Alexis Angelus, Response To Gazing, Digital America
Teaching & Visiting
2024-2025 Visiting Assistant Professor, (M.F.A.) Communication Design,
Pratt Institue, New York City, NY
2023 Guest Critic, California State University, Los Angeles
2021 Guest Critic, Rhode Island School of Design, RI
2021 Guest Critic, Boston University, Boston, MA
2020 Visiting Lecturer, (B.F.A.) Art, Media, & Technology,
Parsons School of Design, New York City, NY
2019 Teaching Assistant, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
2019 Teaching Assistant, Hunan University, Changsha
2016 Teaching Assistant, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing
Talks & Lectures
2022 Artist Talk “Representation, Practice & Dialogue”, Multiple Formats Contemporary Art Book Symposium, Boston, MA
2021 Artist Talk “Between Navigation”, Royal College of Fine Art, London, UK
2021 Artist Talk, Shanghai Picnic Art Festival, Shanghai
2021 Lectures “Almost Too Much Storytelling”, Boston University, Boston, MA
Scholarships & Grants
2021 Cultural Investment Portfolio Grant, Mass Cultural Council
2018 Sanyu Scholarship, Andrea Frank Foundation
2017 Yale School of Art Scholarship, Yale University
2015 The First Prize Scholarship, Central Academy of Fine Arts