Meet Alejandro Chen Li
Originally from Mexico, Alejandro Chen Li is a printmaker and artist based in New York City, whose work spans printmaking, comics, and illustration. He finds inspiration in graffiti, 80’s and 90’s cartoons and comics, and Renaissance and academic paintings.
How did you get started with printmaking and illustration?
I got into printmaking in college. Originally I thought I would be a painter, but found out I really wasn’t too great at it. I started doing screen printing because I was inspired by Takashi Murakami’s Superflat movement. Screen printing worked perfectly with my illustration work, and from there, I started to branch out and learn other printing techniques. As I got better, I started taking on freelance printing work.
As the print shop manager at School of Visual Arts (SVA), what does your typical day look like?
My pre-COVID day-to-day work was managing the shop, ordering inventory, and fixing things when needed. I help students, too; I teach them different printing techniques, critique their work, and help them problem-solve. Currently I’m busy with freelance printing and don’t have enough time to teach classes, but hopefully I will in the future.
Screen print series
This series started after my undergraduate studies. It’s a personal project mainly to get me back into making artwork. At the time, I was obsessed with Renaissance paintings and their encrypted messages; the storytelling and memento mori were a big influence. Each piece generally conveys a pleasant, cheerful vibe, but I always include a hidden element that insinuates danger.
Each print took about two weeks, with 20-25 screen layers each. As for the choice of colors, I usually have a color palette that I like to use. I don’t make color mockups for my own work (which I really should). I have an idea of the color scheme in my head and mix different colors as I print; a lot of them are spontaneous choices. There is no sequential order to the series, I wanted each one to be a stand-alone piece. Each piece can be seen as a cliffhanger; you never know if this is the end or you’ll have to tune in for the next print. They are animals because I didn’t like drawing people at the time (LOL).
Blob
Blob one is one of the later prints. It was around the time where I was getting burned out with printing this series. For a while, I did this practice of drawing blobby shapes and eyes as a warm up and as a meditation. From the image, you see this pink blob creature exuding from Chad (the pig character). It was my interpretation of vomiting the stress and burnout of printing and making artwork for years straight.
Sacrifice to Your Gods
Sacrifice to Your Gods is influenced by nature and Renaissance paintings. I wanted the viewer to stumble upon this scene of a sacrifice. The leaf forest deity needs a sacrifice and you don’t know if our friends will make it out alive.
Light Forest
I wanted to play with transparent inks to create illumination. Light Forest was made around the same time Avatar came out, so subconsciously there’s some influence there. If you look closely there is a large snake underneath the tall grass.
Now that we’re living in the quarantine era, how are you continuing to screen print?
Since COVID has shut down the world, I can’t really make prints. I don’t have the space and resources to create my own studio. For the moment, I’m focusing on illustrating a travel comic about my trip to London and Paris.
Excerpt from Alice and Ale’s Euro Trip
What other outlets do you have besides the print shop?
I’ve been making more digital work. I also have an interest in ceramics and woodworking, and I’m hoping to be able to take classes in the near future. I still like analog work such as drawing and watercolor.
What does art mean for you?
Not to sound pretentious, art is about being creative. It could be making an amazing breakfast with the leftover scraps from your refrigerator. It could be making a ball out of mud. Being focused and processing the creative elements is what art is to me.
As someone who works a lot with students, what would you say to them to encourage their work and journey as an artist, especially during this pandemic? And also considering that learning certain skill sets that require physical presence is now subjugated to being online?
I tell my students to make work that is authentic and that you enjoy. In school, there are a lot of opinions that can lead you to be confused. It is important to have a network of like-minded friends to bounce off ideas and encourage your growth. I also encourage them to take risks and try new things.
With social media, it’s already ingrained in a lot of artists to have an online presence. Showing and promoting your work is easier now. You don’t have to physically carry your work to galleries, design firms, etc. Now you can write a nice email and submit a link to your website. A lot of artists already work in isolation, so this might not be a big change.
Illustrations by Alejandro Chen Li
Interview by NSC