10 Questions with Lavia (Yanzi) Lin

Lavia (Yanzi) Lin (b.1995) is a Berlin-based abstract artist and live painting performer from Shanghai, China. She began painting at the age of 7, from childish doodles, fairy tales to dream-like worlds, her hands were always dipped in paints and holding crayons. In the years of exploring, searching and finding her artistic expressions, her art has always been colourful. Lavia was the name she gave to herself at 3 years old, an unusual name she preferred to her birth name, with the Italian meaning of “the way”. Along her way, she came to Berlin in 2014 to pursue her studies in art. She has a BA in humanities, arts and social thoughts with a concentration of arts and aesthetics from Bard College Berlin. The vibrant international art scene in Berlin encouraged her to further explore her artistic expression and find her own ‘voice’.

Growing up in the family-owned Live Music Bar ‘’House of Blues & Jazz’’ in Shanghai, music became an essential part of the memories of Lavia’s upbringing. From live concerts to recorded music, music fascinates her, in the flowing movements of tunes, melodies and rhythm; the art of improvisation in jazz; and in the harmony of soloists conversing with each other. Even though she never picked up an instrument, as an attentive listener, she listens with her own being. Her love for music has become her artistic inspiration. She uses colors, brushstrokes, and texture to mirror the emotions, memories, and imagination from listening to music. Her art invites the viewers to enter an imaginary dream-like world, full of vivid colors, rhythmic lines, and dancing forms, where sounds are visible, and colors make music. These musical paintings create a connection between the music and visual arts, experimenting in ways how these two art forms interact and exploring the meaning of ‘’imaging music’’. Lavia’s paintings have been exhibited in Berlin, Hamburg, London and Shanghai. She recently joined the artist residency program at the Szent Andras Kastley, in Hungary. She has been working as a freelance artist and arts & culture manager since 2021.

An important aspect of Lavia’s art is the action, ‘the moment of creation’, namely live painting. She first began performing live painting in 2017, with the invitation by the Italian Band Satoyama, to paint at their concerts live. They performed in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at Jazzit Festival in Feltre, Italy and at bars and cafes in Berlin. Performing live painting during concerts challenges her own spontaneity and her ability to be an attentive listener. She has her own ‘musical’ instruments-paints and brushes. In 2022, she accompanied Satoyama on their Europe tour ‘’Sinking Island’’, and performed in Vienna, Prague, Copenhagen and Germany, with the aim to raise awareness of climate change, of the rising sea levels and the harsh reality that unites all known and unknown islands.

Aside from her long-term collaboration with Satoyama, Lavia has performed with other international music artists in different genres ranging from jazz, ambient, improvisation, and original singer-songwriter to classical music, with the aim of bringing together different cultures by connecting visual arts and music.

lavialinart.com | @deepintheblueblau

ARTIST STATEMENT

Lavia’s art invites the viewers to enter an imaginary dream-like world with visual sounds and harmonious colours. She takes strong conceptual references from music and sounds to create expressive abstract soundscapes. Her works are often inspired by and moved by the imagined organic shapes, rhythmic lines, and melodic flows of colours inspired by (but not limited to) the shifting sounds of jazz. Paintings are results of inner dialogues, reflections and contemplations, and studies of close listening, by engaging the senses, emotions and imaginations.

The paintings emerge from a dance of colours and forms, lines and surfaces, where spontaneity and calculation intertwine, creating paintings that are emotional yet rational, gentle yet expressive, the in-betweenness serves as a connection between the audible and visual elements in her work. They often express a sense of tranquility, or a search, guiding the viewer into self-introspection and increasing their perception of, and engagement with, surrounding space. Traces of memories and experiences, a past in combination with the reality of the present, the artist connects together all these, displaying them in a way that they seem to be a part of each other yet exist as individual worlds on their own.

Her paintings can also be seen as a continuous exploration of visualising music, and the state one finds him/herself when listening attentively. The process of how an encounter (with music) develops into a deep connection, and process being transformed into colours, forms and lines onto the canvas. As soon as the music begins, the rawness of sounds, the movements of the musicians, the ‘’liveliness’’ of emotions flow and intertwine with each other. She becomes part of this experience, as a listener, an audience, a painter and a performer, she immerses herself in the state of listening, and becoming all of these roles simultaneously.

Lavia Lin in her studio

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to the public. How did you start getting interested in art? And how did you develop into the artist you are today?

Hi, this is Lavia! Thank you, Al-Tiba9, for the opportunity for me to share my experience & art with you here. I'm an abstract artist from Shanghai living in Berlin. My interest in art started when I was a kid, doodling on paper with crayons and colour pencils, and I would sometimes draw little pictures and tell my family and friends stories about these drawings. In China, it is quite common for children to have extracurriculars; parents will take their young children to classes outside of school to learn piano, swimming, chess, singing, math, and English. My parents recognized my love for art and asked me if I wanted to learn how to paint. When I was 7 years old, they sent me to an art school on the weekends, where I learned the basic techniques of painting and drawing, as well as creative methods of creating art ( I continued going to art classes for 10 years). In each class, we would be presented with a topic, and the teacher would show us some slide shows of art for inspiration, with a short demonstration; everyone would then continue to try out the techniques and ideas, and at the end of the class we would be able to see how different everyone's work would look like. The classes were not about creating a perfect painting like the demonstration but rather something that showcased your individuality, imagination and creativity. I'm grateful for the tools and methods I have learned, and I was able to utilize them in creating my own art, and finding my own artistic expression.

You are originally from Shanghai, but you are currently living in Berlin. How do these two different cities influence your work as an artist?

I would say Shanghai is where I started painting, and Berlin is where I find my artistic "voice". Coming to Berlin, and exploring the vibrant art scene and the communities of international artists have encouraged me to be an artist. I'm constantly growing and learning from other artists I meet. Berlin is especially attractive to artists because it offers the platform and freedom to discover and experiment. There are supportive artist communities, in which you could find opportunities for collaborations or just exchange ideas. There is so much art in the city in different formats, that you can never run out of inspiration.
Shanghai has an international art scene, especially in recent years, there are more and more art fairs, new exhibition centres, and international exhibitions featuring artists from all over the world. The last time I was in Shanghai, I was only painting as a hobby but not professionally. I haven't been back since Covid, in fact, I haven't been to Shanghai yet ever since I have been working as an artist. It'll be exciting to explore more of the art scene there and learn about how the city is for artists.

Little Girl Blue, oil on canvas, 120x100 cm, 2022 © Lavia Lin

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?

I'm an intuitive painter, so I usually don't have a specific image or plan before I start creating. Sometimes I have a rough idea of what my painting will be like, certain colours I want to use and I explore the idea in the process of painting. I usually just go with the flow. I pay particular attention to the harmonies in colours, and see if the painting is balanced.

What is the most challenging part of your work? And where do you find inspiration?

Being an artist is not only about creating, there are many aspects that come with it- finding open calls, writing applications and proposals, doing research, applying fundings, doing taxes. Especially being an emerging artist, new in the art scene, you have to put in a lot of effort to market, promote, research, and establish yourself. It takes time, and it can be overwhelming at times that you cannot find time to create, and it can be challenging. But it's all part of the process- be patient and don't give up! There are many art galleries, museums and art fairs in Berlin to find inspiration from. Of course, there are also many brilliant artists active on Instagram who show their works and working process. I can learn a lot from them. I love to read about art and artists; it helps me to understand more about the creative process and what inspires other artists. I'm currently reading "Paul Klee-Painting Music" by Hajo Düchting, to learn about the connection between painting and music, and to study the works of the musical abstractions by Paul Klee.

Tell us more about your abstract painting. What does it represent for you? Do you have any specific theme you want to focus on?

I'm an expressive person in art, and I work a lot with colours. Abstraction is appealing because it's non-representational, deprived of something concrete. It opens up the interpretations to the viewers, in the same way that abstraction gives artists the freedom to express. I want my paintings to convey certain feelings or emotions that I put myself into painting them, and not limit the meanings of these paintings to the mere idea of them having to be about something. I want the viewers to be invited to an experience, to observe, to feel, and to resonate when they look at art. For me, abstraction is a mirror- a way for me to channel things that cannot be described using words or concrete images, it helps me to capture intangible things, and to explore the unknown. Intangible things like music, feelings, emotions are very interesting for me to explore in my paintings.

What about the colors you use? You seem to have recurring ones you are particularly drawn to. Do they have a specific meaning, and how do you choose them?

I often use the color blue; I'm drawn to this color because of its various shades and tones and the possibilities they bring. It's a colour that has been surrounding me since many years, it became part of my identity. Blue is a natural color, the color of the sky and the ocean, of infinity. It's sadness, happiness, mystery, loyalty, fluidity and peace. Blue, for me, is where I find peace, tranquility, and depth. I always like to start my painting with blue, it's like a routine to find my center before I start adventuring. It's when I feel the most at ease with my own being.
For a long time, I used mainly blue in my art (perhaps you can call it a "blue period"); now more and more colors have found their way to my palate, I like to pick the colors that harmonize the most with blue or even with contrasting colors like orange, or red, there is always a particular hue that harmonize with a particular hue of blue. Sometimes if the painting becomes too colourful, I use blue to balance the colours.

Monk’s dream, Oil, pastel, enamel, mixed media on canvas, 60x80 cm, 2021 © Lavia Lin

Turn out the stars, acrylic, pastel on canvas, 50x60 cm, 2023 © Lavia Lin

In your work, you blend painting and music, especially when doing live paintings. How did you come up with this concept? And what does it help you express or communicate?

Music has been an essential part of my life, growing up in the jazz bar, owned by my parents, there is music everywhere, night and day. Even though I was never musical, neither are my parents, we just love music so much. When I came to Berlin to study, I moved my whole life here, and I was missing the feeling of being surrounded by music. I started to explore the local music scene, went to concerts and jam sessions. And I felt home with the music I grew up listening to. At one point, I started the project of painting to music- 'Jazz paintings", namely painting the feelings and memories I have associated with a particular piece of music. The concept of live painting came up, with the invitation by the Italian band Satoyama from Turin in 2017, they liked my art and asked me if I wanted to join them on tour and paint with them. At first, I was nervous about the idea of painting in front of an audience, painting was always a private activity for me, and I couldn't imagine what it would be like. Interestingly, it was also the first time for us to meet and work together. Once we were on stage together, it clicked- as soon as the music started, I was completely drawn to the energy of these musicians, I moved my arms spontaneously in response to the music, it's like I was playing music with my paint brushes, having conversation with the fellow performers. Since then, we have created a long-term collaboration. I have also been encouraged to perform more and more live painting with different musicians, and explore diverse music genres. It's an intimate experience creating something together and being inspired by each other.
Painting at home, listening to music, or recording is unlike the experience of live painting. I can pause and go back to painting, I can pause the music, put it on repeat. I have been given the luxury of time. With live painting, it's all about the moment- It is an event in which the rawness of sounds, the movements of the musicians, the "liveliness" of emotions flow and intertwine with each other. I'm a part of this experience, and my role as an artist is to record these moments visually. The painting begins and ends with the concert, but it becomes an extension of the memory. Having both approaches to painting music has helped me to understand the various expressions of music and art.

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

Currently, I'm making new paintings and experimenting with movements, shapes, and lines. I have an upcoming live painting performance with two talented musicians Amanda Becker and Gur Liraz on 28. October that I'm excited about. I'm also brainstorming the concept and ideas for a potential mural project to apply for residencies, which I still need to do more research on.

Live Painting with Satoyama in Copenhagen Bronshoj Water Tower, acylic on canvas, 100x170 cm, 2022 © Lavia Lin

Is there anything else you would like to incorporate into your practice? Any other medium or technique you would like to tackle in the future?

I would like to explore more about the different expressions and possibilities of connecting music and art, and hopefully find a music partner, where we could meet regularly, improvise and experiment together. I'm a painting-on-canvas person, but there are so many intriguing materials that I haven't explored yet. I want to explore and try out distinctive and unconventional materials to paint on, like wood, cardboard, and various paper materials.

Finally, what do you wish to accomplish this year, both in terms of career goals and personal life?

I still have a long way to go as an artist and lots to learn. For this year, I just wish to have more paintings ready, and hopefully some good ones too! :)As the year is almost coming to an end, for next year I wish to have the opportunity to join residencies, exhibitions and do more research on topics that inspire me, and explore more about who I am as an artist.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.

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