Questions for Painter Li Songsong

Artist Li Songsong, 2011

Li Songsong's "Escape," 2010

Name: Li Songsong

Age: 38

Occupation: Artist

City/Neighborhood: Caochangdi, Beijing

What project are you working on now?

- My solo show opened on May 5 at the Pace Gallery in New York.

What's the last show that you saw?

- Richard Serra's drawings at the Metropolitan Museum

What's your favorite place to see art?

- New York

Where do you source the historical documentary images that you use?

- Newspapers, magazines, the Internet, books

The marks on your canvases seem to be made from everything from brushes to finger-strokes and palette knives. What is the most unexpected tool you've used to make your paintings?

- Actually, I only use brushes.

Do you consider yourself a political artist?

- No

Why?

- Because I do not take politics as an aim for art.

What's the most indispensable item in your studio?

- Music

Where are you finding ideas for your work these days?

- Ideas come, they’re not found.

What's the last artwork you purchased?

- A damaged stone sculpture of Buddha from the sixth century

What's the first artwork you ever sold?

-  A painting that was bought by my professor in college.

What's the weirdest thing you ever saw happen in a museum or gallery?

- I saw someone shoot an artwork in the National Art Museum of China when I was 15 years old.

What's your art-world pet peeve?

- Everything in the art world can be understood completely, so there is no pet peeve in the art world to me.

Do you have a gallery/museum-going routine?

- No. It depends on my mood.

What's the last great book you read? "

- On Ugliness" by Umberto Eco

What under-appreciated artist, gallery, or work do you think people should know about?

- Good art will be appreciated sooner or later.

What are your hobbies?

- Listening to music