Orange Li
"Untitled", 2023
Ink on amate paper
8 x 15 ¾ inches (20.3 x 40 cm)
Courtesy of the Artist

Selected by Matthew Deleget 

Orange Li is a Taiwanese-born artist based in Jersey City and New York. Her practice is rooted in memories, dreams, and an intuitive connection between the body and the psychological state. Drawing from personal experiences of poverty, gender discrimination, and sexual violence, Li transforms pain into a path of healing through her art. She explores the interconnectedness of nature, time-space travel, and herstory, while also investigating the relationship between art, spirituality, and storytelling.

In her drawings, Li reimagines cosmic, fluid-like bodies traveling across realms—from underwater worlds to celestial spaces. At the center of her work is the recurring figure of Niwawa, a symbol of the orphaned child, which embodies emotions of loneliness, isolation, and transformation. Niwawa reflects Li’s own herstory, having appeared in her drawings since childhood, during a time when she was nearly sold by her biological father due to gendered commodification.

Li’s practice aims to harmonize the human and natural worlds, striving to create a Gesamtkunstwerk—a universal artwork—that synthesizes various forms of knowledge into her unique aesthetic. She holds an MFA in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts (2024).