Corey Helford Gallery | Through 2/17 | Los Angeles, CA

Another World

Corey Helford Gallery features the surreal artwork of Li Shanmei in an upcoming solo show.

The artwork of Li Shanmei will be featured in a solo exhibition at Corey Helford Gallery for the first time, beginning this January. Showcasing a total of 16 paintings, Lucid Dreaming spans four different series by the Chinese artist: Mandala, I Am Always Here, Rebirth and Division and Union.

I Am Always Here 3, oil on canvas, 16 x 12"

“These works all revolve around children from another world whose inner and outer selves are interconnected and are able to connect with anything else,” says Li. “The girl in these works represent the most beautiful and clear-headed part of my heart. The main purpose is to tell the story of what happened when my past, present and future self [interact] with her.”

Mandala 24, oil on canvas, 12 x 16"

Li’s work immediately stands out in a crowd. Her characters are delicate, doll-like and otherworldly. They feature oversized apple-shaped heads perched upon slender necks and shoulders with giant, almost cat-like eyes. Often, they capture both the innocence and magic of childhood. Her Rebirth series, which includes paintings like Rebirth 2 and Rebirth 4, “highlights the stories that children tell through their eyes,” says Li.

Her Mandala series is the longest running. “It carries the message of longing, harmony and unity. For this show, the focus of the series is on portraying the relationship between light and children,” Li adds. Part of the upcoming exhibition is Mandala 24, depicting the side profile of a little girl in braids, with an airplane whirring past her.

Rebirth 4, oil on canvas, 12 x 12"

The series I Am Always Here features a primarily blue color scheme which Li describes as “more stable and elegant.”

“I’ve mainly been influenced by classical paintings, surrealism and symbolism, which can be vaguely seen in my work,” Li adds. The theme of her Lucid Dreaming exhibition was influenced by the movie Inception,one of the artist’s favorite films. “When I dream, oftentimes the feeling is so real that I can’t distinguish the dream from the real world after waking up. Perhaps this world is also a dream that I’m dreaming of elsewhere,” she says. “I think about what would happen if a sober person came to this world; she knows where she comes from and knows she’s in a dream world. Will she wake me up?”