Mae Cornes
Photo courtesy of Haozhe Li
“I want to spark conversations about the nature of reality and explore how we perceive the world around us,” says Haozhe Li, the New York-based Illustrator and visual artist behind the exhibition “Something Happened.” Her series of four scenes, blending real and unreal elements, invites viewers on a journey through uncertainty and ambiguity, challenging their understanding of what is real and imagined.
The Chinatown Soup Gallery in New York featured Li’s “Something Happened” exhibition from August 26 to September 1, 2024. The Gallery at Chinatown Soup is a vibrant, community-focused art space that invites local and international artists in New York to engage in creative practices outside the conventional art world. This initiative emphasizes inclusivity, welcoming intentional creators from diverse disciplines to showcase their work.
The gallery aims to contextualize art, revealing alternative narratives and challenging traditional presentation methods. It adopts a visionary approach that blends retrospective and futuristic elements and positions art as a dynamic process of self-discovery, where intuitive decision-making and raw expression are celebrated. This philosophy highlights its belief that art is not merely an object but an ongoing process that fosters community connection and personal growth.
Li’s display at the Chinatown Soup Gallery represents her artistic growth and bold step into new creative territory. Her exhibit highlights her artistic growth and a bold step into new creative territory.
Haozhe Li has crafted a visual experience that lingers in the mind long after viewing, prompting reflection on the nature of perception and reality through a masterful blend of traditional and digital techniques. The Association of Illustrators has included it in the 2024 | Longlist + Shortlist | Exploration category.
Meet the Illustrator and Visual Artist Haozhe Li
Haozhe Li’s journey to becoming one of New York’s exceptional illustrators and visual artists began as she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Design at Beijing Normal University. Her passion for illustration and visual art led her to deepen her studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, where she completed her MFA in Illustration in 2023.
Li’s artistic style is characterized by a blend of traditional and contemporary techniques centered around her primary medium of color pastels. These pigmented chalks allow Li to create works with a distinctive texture and soft, dreamlike quality. The velvety nature of pastels enables her to achieve smooth blending and gradual color transitions, resulting in ethereal atmospheres and vibrant hues that maintain their intensity over time.
Li explains that her process begins with traditional pencil sketches to plan compositions, followed by the careful application of pastels using techniques such as layering, blending, and hatching to build up the main elements of her illustrations.
What sets Li’s work apart is her seamless integration of digital techniques to enhance her pastel creations. After completing the physical artwork, Li scans or photographs it, then uses digital software to refine details, adjust colors and contrast, and add subtle effects or textures that may be difficult to achieve with pastels alone. This combination of soft pastel textures and digital refinement results in illustrations with a distinctive dreamlike atmosphere characterized by soft edges, gentle color transitions, and slightly heightened or surreal color palettes.
“I find that the unpredictability of watercolors, combined with the dreamlike haze of color pastel, helps to create a sense of illusion and otherworldliness,” Haozhe Li explains. This combination of techniques allows her to connect the abstract and the figurative, producing a visual language that invites personal interpretation and emotional engagement.
Li’s artworks have been shortlisted for awards such as the World Illustration Awards (WIA) and the London International Creative Competition (LICC). She has also won recognition from iJungle Illustration, Creative Quarterly, and the Hiii Illustration competition.
Unraveling “Something Happened”
Alongside other stunning artworks on her portfolio, including works like “Dreamscape,” “Poems of December,” and “:iidrr’s pinup salon” Li acknowledges that “Something Happened” holds a uniquely special place in her heart. The showcase is divided into three distinct sections: “Roving,” “Something Happened,” and “Veiled.” Each section explores different aspects of perception and reality, creating a narrative flow that guides viewers through Haozhe Li’s expressive vision.
The first section, “Roving,” sets the tone for the show with a gentle flow of emotions. Haozhe Li’s surreal and mysterious visual language allows viewers to interpret the images in their own way, creating a space for personal associations and storytelling. The use of color, line, and atmosphere quickly immerses the audience in a fleeting, temporary world.
The titular “Something Happened” section features a series where pastel and watercolor take center stage. The soft, hazy quality of pastels creates a misty, dreamlike atmosphere that blurs the line between reality and fantasy. The unpredictability of watercolor adds spontaneity and life to the pieces, bringing out more dynamic shapes and compositions.
Haozhe Li elaborates, “The artworks don’t just capture attention visually; they build deeper emotional and intellectual connections with the audience, challenging their understanding of what is real and making them reflect on the assumptions we take for granted in everyday life.”
The final section, “Veiled,” explores the concepts of the “hidden” and “revealed” in art-making. Haozhe Li merges these ideas to delve into the complexity and ambiguity inherent in the creative process. The “hidden” symbolizes the artist’s internal emotions and thoughts, while the “revealed” is presented through concrete visual symbols and forms.
Haozhe Li emphasizes that while each scene is distinct, a common thread runs through them all—a sense of uncertainty, an ambiguity that keeps the viewer guessing.
Capturing Ideas Through Metaphor
In Li’s “Something Happened,” metaphor is a powerful tool for conveying complex emotions and ideas. The illustrator employs metaphorical elements in her compositions, allowing viewers to uncover layers of meaning within her intricate artwork. The soft texture of color pastels with her narrative style produces a lyrical quality, inviting viewers to engage deeply with each piece.
Through these metaphors, Li challenges her audience to look beyond the surface and consider how every aspect of human life can represent something more profound, often overlooked daily.
The use of metaphor in Haozhe Li’s work is linked to the concept of ambiguity, which runs as a common thread throughout the exhibition. Just as life itself is filled with uncertainty and open to multiple interpretations, Li’s scenes present distinct yet interconnected narratives that remain open-ended.
This ambiguity reflects Li’s perspective on life and art, a continuous exploration without definitive answers. Li invites viewers to bring their own experiences, emotions, and beliefs to the interpretation of her work by embracing this uncertainty in her creative process. This allows for a rich and varied engagement with each piece.
This technique enhances the depth of her art and mirrors the complex, often ambiguous nature of human existence and imaginative expression.
“I aim to develop a continuous flow of emotions in these works,” Haozhe Li explains. “Viewers are no longer just looking at surface images but are instead drawn into deeper feelings and reflections through the use of symbols and elements.”
Art that Sees Right Through
Haozhe Li acknowledges the inherent challenge of creating art that demands reflection and deeper contemplation from its audience. She understands that not all viewers are inclined toward or comfortable with artwork that requires significant mental engagement or explores more serious themes.
Despite this, Haozhe Li remains committed to her artistic vision of creating pieces that encourage viewers to reflect on their lives and experiences. Her goal is not simply to produce visually appealing works but to craft illustrations that will enable personal introspection and discovery.
Through her art, Haozhe Li invites viewers to engage in open interpretation, recognizing that this perspective can lead to various reactions and realizations. These interpretations may not always be positive or comforting, but Li sees these sometimes difficult interpretations as a reflection of the complexity of the human experience itself.
Building on the success of “Something Happened,” Haozhe Li looks forward to expanding her portfolio by developing more art that encourages self-reflection among viewers. She envisions her work as a means to build meaningful connections with her audience and with fellow artists. As she participates in exhibitions and engages in conversations around her art, Li aims to create a community where ideas can flow freely and inspire one another.