The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Biodiversity 2

Biodiversity 2

2018
(Chinese, b. 1991)
China
Woodblock print, ink on paper
16 x 18 cm (6 5/16 x 7 1/16 in.)
James Parmelee Fund 2021.10
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Pointed indentations set the insect against a texture that looks like a diffusion of light.

Description

In this print, Li Yuxuan creates the silhouette of an insect cut out in delicate lines from a small wooden block. Indentations on the block create a pointillist texture of white dots that sets the insect against what looks like a diffusion of light. The image provokes the association of insects caught and preserved millions of years ago in semitransparent amber. Biodiversity points to our heritage of nature and a fragile ecosystem.

Li was born in 1991 and received her MA from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts. The Academy is traditionally known for its monochrome woodcuts of remarkable refinement and detail. In continuing the institution’s legacy, Li’s prints are exquisite, small, and cut with intriguing detail.
  • 2018-2019
    Collection of the artist
    2019-2021
    (The Muban Educational Trust, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2021-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Modern Impressions - Light and Water in Chinese Prints (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 4, 2022-May 7, 2023).
  • {{cite web|title=Biodiversity 2|url=false|author=Li Yuxuan|year=2018|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2021.10