In my painting practice of 2013 and 2014, I attempted to deconstruct the technical elements of painting - modeling, color, structure, space, perspective, brush stoke, etc, then query, doubt, and reconstruct them. The process was complex and difficult, in which I examined and demanded myself ceaselessly, and expressed my temperament and states of mind moderately and prudently. 

Any overemphasis of any element would arouse my caution and be suppressed. What I want to present is a complicate yet artless picture in which various elements entangle and counteract each other,  coexist, and cancel out. So that in a system full of complexities and pluralities the art of painting moves forward and shapes itself.

I don't think that style should be pursued and emphasized too much. In my point of view, style is a result of a struggle between the repetitive self-exploring inwardly and self-redefining against the world outwardly, and of insistence in light of self-doubt and self-affirmation. It is a natural revelation of personal quality.

The appearance of the paintings seems mediocre, prosaic, yet a little bit strange. It is a shell I deliberately produced. Hopefully some idiosyncrasies would reveal themselves through the shell, naturally and surprisingly.
- Li Yiwen 

*image (left)
Li Yiwen
Pine, 2013
Acrylic on canvas, 80x80cm 
courtesy of the artist and Gallery Yang