Via Li is a painter whose work investigates emotion as a force that transforms the body, space, and atmosphere, working in diluted acrylic and charcoal on unprimed canvas.
Artist Statement
I investigate emotion not as a subject to illustrate, but as a force capable of transforming the body, space, and perception. Rather than depicting specific emotions, I am interested in the invisible conditions that quietly reshape how we inhabit the world.
Working with diluted acrylic on unprimed canvas, I allow pigment to stain and move freely before responding with charcoal, layering, erasure, and gestural marks. Fragmented figures emerge, dissolve, and reappear within shifting fields of color, where body and environment continuously influence one another.
Through the interplay of abstraction and figuration, I create paintings that function as emotional spaces—places where inner experience extends beyond the body and becomes physically present. I hope the work is encountered first through sensation, leaving room for multiple interpretations rather than fixed narratives.
Mini Interview
What is the central theme or concept behind your current body of work?
My current work investigates emotion as a force that transforms the body, space, and atmosphere. Through fragmented figures, charcoal lines, and acrylic washes on unprimed canvas, I explore how pressure, resistance, and release take physical form.
How do you hope your work resonates with or impacts your viewers?
I hope viewers encounter a physical sensation before arriving at an interpretation—a sense of weight, tension, or a body losing its boundaries. The figures remain unresolved, leaving room for viewers to recognize feelings that may be difficult to put into words.
Can you share a pivotal moment that has shaped your artistic journey?
My current SCAD Alumni Atelier residency in Lacoste, France, has marked a turning point in my transition from formal art education toward a sustained professional painting practice. Having the time and space to work at a larger scale has allowed me to follow the behavior of materials more closely and let uncertainty shape the paintings.
What advice would you offer to emerging artists navigating today’s art world?
Pay attention to the questions that keep returning in your work, even when they do not lead to immediate recognition. Choose opportunities that deepen those questions, and protect enough studio time to develop work beyond what an application or audience expects.
Are there any upcoming projects or exhibitions you would like to share with our readers?
During my residency in Lacoste, I am developing a new group of large-scale paintings using acrylic, charcoal, and dry pigment on unprimed canvas. These works extend my investigation of the body and its surroundings, with particular attention to how lines and color fields hold, interrupt, or dissolve a figure.
