Li You's works integrate visual and olfactory elements, experiencing the collision between the heart and objects in the space between illusion and reality, aiming to perceive the objective correspondence within from the external image. After Li You's painting approaches realism, it continuously slides towards the realm of illusion; these illusions should be his experiences in reality, carrying value judgments and emotional presuppositions. Through his subjective expression of life's illusions, he achieves a transcendence from the realm of reality to the realm of dreams.

Li You's dream-based creations are, on one hand, a reproduction of real experiences, and on the other hand, a feeling of temporal and spatial disorientation during the creative process. In his works, he expresses feelings beyond the distant view of landscapes. If his early paintings still showed traces of objective reality, then Li You's current creations more prominently reflect the construction of a spiritual home based on dreamlike environments. In recent years, his works have gradually evolved from experience and form to spirit and form, with the creative attempt increasingly seeking to achieve resonance between inner spiritual emotions and external ideals.

He has always focused on the balance between ideals and emotions, and through the narrative in his paintings, he drives the storytelling with his personal insights into a suitable homeland, while intentionally highlighting a strong sense of home. The excellence of a piece of art lies not in its representation but in its subjective expression, which is followed by the richness and multiplicity of the world presented by the artist. His artwork evokes narrative imagination, where the advantage lies in the allegorical qualities hidden within the narrative, conveying a gentle power infused with the fragrance of flowers and the memory of stones awakening. Simple emotions and calm narration guide the narrative to gradually become a subjective judgment. Li You follows his inner needs, transforming his defined 'Peach Blossom Spring' into a kind of spiritual richness, becoming his experience of the changes in modern society. The concrete expressions reveal the lack of emotion and thought, perhaps he has more doubts about the contemporary, but what runs through the work is not denial but a reflection of the artist's earnest watch over the feeling of home, attempting to find a spiritual basis for communication with the present from traditional culture. He creates a homeland with dreamlike consciousness, weaving his works with structure and narrative elements, reflecting his sincere attitude of watching over traditional culture. He once said: 'I try to weaken and break free from the fixed image of reference objects. While enhancing abstract painting elements such as points, lines, or large color blocks, I often use splashing colors to add an element of chance to the picture. These 'accidental' moments on the canvas are like new buds on a tree; they are not entirely controlled by people, and their growth cannot be predetermined, thus they are rich, vivid, and alive.' As the background for dreams, the Peach Blossom Spring is not only a geographical spiritual dwelling but also a cultural imprint. He hopes that his paintings can grow naturally, striving to achieve a free expression of the desires deep within his heart.

His paintings feature landscapes, figures, fields, animals, and floral scents. The visions from his subconscious transform into the artist's most sincere cultural attachment. Rather than saying his work attempts to create a sense of growth and harmony in nature, it is more accurate to say he is helping us construct a spiritual homeland beyond geographical reality, a utopia of culture and spirit. In his continuous exploration and practice, Li You's paintings always embody intertextuality and a significantly personal visual language, showcasing reflections on life and the ideal space-time. His painting employs a lot of pure colors, splashed paint, and large brushstrokes in its creation, rather than mechanical production. In handling the relationship between self and the external world, it reflects his avoidance of mechanics and entry into a meditative state, making the work more inclined towards spiritual expression. In recent years, Li You's artistic creations consistently evoke a sense of the creator's perspective on the world. Gazing at his works always gives a feeling of observing from afar, with a creative mindset that is closer to Heidegger's notion of 'being-there.' However, Li You has always restrained the rhetorical actions of the paintings to emphasize the immediate expression of creating environments. In his continually expanding consciousness, not only does he possess a unique style, but he also releases the perceptual power corresponding to external experiences and internal objectivity, generating a spiritual appeal through intuitiveness and sensibility. This leads to new experiences in vision and perception, exploring thoughts on existence and life through form and meaning. He emphasizes the ongoing exploration and pursuit of spiritual concepts, allowing painting to transform into new realms.

Overall, Li You's artistic creation, through the reconstruction of real scenes, reveals the author's subjective emotions and spiritual space. In other words, the 'Peach Blossom Land' has transformed into a certain clue of ideals and spirit, bringing life and nature to vividness and poetic richness through macro contemplation and micro practices. However, 'Peach Blossom Land' also seems to be a kind of yearning for him, with his true intention being to achieve a high degree of freedom in painting state and spiritual expression through this concept, thus forming a highly characteristic painting state. This state opens up a dual perspective of his artistic creation concept, which is to draw from the ideal natural and cultural landscape of life experiences, filling the works with the poetic imagery and philosophical thought.

April 25, 2024, in Hangzhou

Similarity and difference —Five People Painting Art Research Exhibition · Shenzhen Station

SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES

RESEARCH EXHIBITION OF PAINTING ART BY FIVE ARTISTS·SHENZHEN

Exhibition Hours

June 27, 2025 - August 17, 2025

Exhibition Venue

Exhibition Hall 3-8, Second Floor, Dafen Art Museum, Longgang District, Shenzhen

Exhibition Halls 3-8, 2nd Floor, Dafen Art Museum, Longgang District, Shenzhen