Yinuo Li (Edward) is a Toronto-based artist and graphic designer whose practice spans visual communication and fine art. He holds a Bachelor of Design in Graphic Design from OCAD University, with a minor in Drawing and Painting. Using mediums such as oil and acrylic with expressive visual storytelling, his work explores themes of identity, dislocation, and the surreal aspects of everyday life.
Strange Spaces
(1), (3) Oil on Canvas, 36" x 24", (2) Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 48"
My painting series explores the dissonance between human connection and isolation, order and chaos, and the surreal tensions of existing within a society while navigating my own artistic identity. I often feel detached from the places I inhabit, as if observing them from a third-person perspective, I am interested in exploring this through the dynamic interplay of different locations, activities, characters and perspectives, evoking the paradoxical feeling that everything makes sense yet nothing truly does. I drew inspiration from Neo Rauch and the New Leipzig School style, as well as surrealist and expressionist artists like Rene Magritte and Max Beckmann. Through this three-piece series, I delve into the fragmented yet interconnected experiences of urban everyday life, examining the contrasts and harmonies that define our shared and individual realities. This body of work invites viewers to contemplate their own relationship with place, society, and the dissonant feelings of familiarity and alienation that shape the human condition in this post-COVID society.
