Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruohan Li.
Hi Ruohan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a multimedia artist based in LA and Beijing.
I entered the world of fine art when I enrolled in a prestigious fine art high school in China. After four years of traditional art study and practice, I was selected into CAFA, the best art academy in China, with an excellent ranking. Everything was naturally going on. Art became the only thing for me to pursue at the moment. During my time at CAFA, the definition of art became broader to me. I realized it was time for me to step out of the traditional painting and to explore more. And then, I got to know new media and started to make conceptual art by using the languages of video, ready-made, synthesis materials, mechanics, my body, and so on. The most fascinating thing about contemporary art for me is the freedom of expression and the freedom of choosing artistic languages. I enjoy research into diverse cultural and social phenomena and experiments with the media.
After getting my bachelor’s degree in China, the idea of studying abroad was getting stronger in my mind. With an intense curiosity about exotic cultures and the wider world, I came to the United States in 2019 to explore experimental video and multimedia art at CalArts, where my art world expanded considerably. My art education was extremely solid and diverse, which formed the soil for the development of my unique artistic language.
At the same time as studying, I have participated in many exhibitions and have gradually developed my art career. Beijing, Venice, LA, and New York… my art has been traveling around the world. I had my ready-made art pieces and video installations shown in great galleries and museums of China when I was in my undergraduate school. I will never forget the image of hundreds of people crowding into the exhibit and seeing my work carefully. The memory of the first sale of my work often comes to my mind as well. Every time I met obstacles, those were always the power which supported me and pushed me to move forward. During the pandemic, while everything was shut down, I took part in a virtual exhibition, showing my imagination on Mars to the audience in Venice, Italy. And now, I’ve started my art career in one of my favorite cities, LA. I am grateful for my experience with the practice of multimedia art, which has made me more open-minded to creating diverse artworks.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Making art is definitely a rough road. But it makes me satisfied that my road is widening. It took me a long time to think deeply about myself. What is the most important part of my life and what do I really want to pursue? Because I believe art should be made of my life. And to be an artist, I actually put on the role with crucial responsibility of society. Artists need to keep sensitive and curious about what they see all along. They also need to focus on their concerns and have the desire for expression.
It’s also not easy to start my art career in a new country. In particular, LA is full of talented artists. So it’s very important to know the unique point of myself and where my stage should be. I kept trying to find opportunities, even though I was turned down again and again. Then, I made my first large-scale video installation. I had my experimental video shown in New York and achieved many awards. Also, I am super excited to announce that my first solo exhibition is coming soon! It will take place at Taylor Fine Art Gallery in January 2024. I believe I am currently on the right track.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My art practice involves video art, video installations, readymade, experimental films, performances and is never limited to any single medium. I started using 16mm film in my work when I came into CalArts. Through the experiments on the actual film, I started exploring the differences between digital medium and film, which inspired me to make some of the video art.
As a Chinese artist living in the United States, I use the perspective of my generation to excavate personal memories and emotions in the context of the vast Chinese cultural background and the conditions of Chinese society. At the same time, I’m trying to experience as much as possible in US society. I focus on the comparative study of Eastern and Western cultures, looking for different sources and presenting the power of cultural collision and the beauty of diversity to the audience. I’m interested in the concept of space. I always want to translate my art language by installations, the type of art based on space. I am concerned with the interaction between spaces in human society and nature; in virtual and reality.
In my opinion, interdisciplinary collaboration in art is a broad field worth deeply exploring and developing in the future. In my recent projects, I’m collaborating with choreographers, dancers, composers, and animators, which could show me more possibilities and inspirations from other fields and let me find more precise ways to express abstract concepts.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Los Angeles is an illusory city awash with pseudo-nature and pseudo-artificiality. It doesn’t sound lovable. But that’s what attracts me to stay here. LA consists of extreme romance and bloody reality. It manifests an attitude of cynicism but at the same time, is filled with worship of consumerism. No one would refuse to watch a sunset at Santa Monica beach. However, the captivating sunset and the cheesy rollercoaster are showing an extraordinary harmony, which could only happen in LA. The contrasts in big cities, which I really love to observe, always inspire me to think and make art. The artificial mark in natural space forms one of my concerns hiding in my works.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucida07/
- Other: https://vimeo.com/ruohanli. https://artyourselfatelier.com/exhibitions-exclusive/ruohan-li-drainage-basin/
Image Credits
Presley Yang Areon Mobasher
