Mr. Li signs postcards with his work on them after the Q&A Session.
Students admire Mr. Li’s artwork in the Paul Mellon Arts Center Gallery.
The Paul Mellon Arts Center transformed into a quaint art gallery on Friday, October 16 as it displayed Chinese ink paintings of the renowned artist Mr. Zhimi Li. A graduate of the China Academy of Art, Mr. Li explores the fusion of traditional Chinese ink painting techniques with modern subjects from everyday life. Colorful depictions of familiar objects such as teapots, persimmons, and even a cell phone on a tripod made for the endearing illustrations that the Choate community admired. Hosted by Yoyo Zhang ’24 with the help of Kelly Li, a high schooler from Massachusetts, “Bringing Chinese Traditional Culture into Contemporary Art” showcased some of Mr. Li’s recent works.
Over the summer, Zhang began planning this event with Mr. Li, a family friend, as a part of her organization, TEDx@Choate. While the event serves as an exhibition of Mr. Li’s artwork, Zhang also envisioned it to be a space for the artist to indulge in his eclectic approach to traditional Chinese ink painting. By a stroke of serendipity, “Bringing Chinese Traditional Culture into Contemporary Art” was planned for mid-October, perfectly timed to kickstart a thrilling lineup to Choate’s first International Education Week.
All of the paintings exhibited were drawn while Mr. Li was in the U.S. “They reflect things I see and feel in my daily life,” he shared. “It feels like a diary of images depicting my feelings about the little things in life.” Many of his paintings are accompanied by Chinese poems with beauty that could, as Mr. Li promised, “make everyone look prettier.”
Rebecca Denhart ’23, who is Chinese and learns Mandarin at Choate, appreciated the cultural aspects of the exhibition. “I loved seeing Chinese culture highlighted within the walls of Choate, feeling connected when [I] saw familiar Chinese items and values I have in my own life, and the openness of Mr. Li and his family in talking to everyone at the event,” she said.
The exhibition was followed by a Q&A session with Mr. Li, which was hosted by Chinese Club Vice President Lauren Kee ’24, Choate Korean Friendship Association Cabinet Member Danny Yoon ’24, and Art Club President Denhart. Mr. Li’s responses were translated from Mandarin Chinese into English by Zhang.
After the discussion, Choate community members selected a postcard decorated with Mr. Li’s work and received his autograph. Along with his signature, Mr. Li also drew a doodle on the back of the postcards. “Sometimes it can be hard to maintain creativity, so it’s helpful to hear his experience using art as an outlet for expression. Just to see his little doodles on everything he signed seemed like even a small aspect of that,” said Mikayla DaSilva ’24, an artist and poetry enthusiast who attended the event.
Reflecting on the event, Mr. Li said, “The most memorable moment for me was that every teacher and student there was able to choose their favorite notecard, which just shows that the appreciation of beauty is not restricted by the differences in language and culture.”
For Mr. Li, painting is life, and it is as natural as sleeping and eating. During the panel discussion, Mr. Li explained that he finds peace and positivity through creating art. He compared the joy of revisiting the same seemingly ordinary subjects in multiple paintings to the happiness he derives from eating the same type of bread every day. “His work showed me that there is so much more significance that can be found in small items when we acknowledge how our emotions can be tied to them,” praised Denhart.
Choate community members can learn more about Mr. Li and his work through the eight books he gifted to the Andrew Mellon Library. “Each book in the selection is also unique and leans on a different perspective — beautiful scenery, food, longing, family, nostalgia, and other emotions — and they represent my emotional journey in the past few years,” said Mr. Li.
As the kickoff event of International Education Week at Choate, “Bringing Chinese Traditional Culture into Contemporary Art” aimed to share a traditional form of visual art with the school community and spark conversations about its transnational significance. The exhibition executed this goal beautifully: “It was a really immersive way to learn about Chinese poetry, art, and life,” said DaSilva.
Note: Quotes from Mr. Li were translated from Chinese to English by Yoyo Zhang ’24 and Lauren Kee ’24
