Kangli Zhou

Titled Lost of Time, this painting portrays a young woman seated in profile, her gaze drifting into the dark expanse beyond the frame as an open book rests quietly on her lap. Clothed in a delicate white lace dress and surrounded by silence, she appears suspended between presence and absence, thought and memory. The absence of action and the subdued palette suggest a moment stretched beyond its limits—a stillness where time does not pass but dissolves. Rather than reading, she seems caught in a reverie. The work reflects on how time can blur, slow, or vanish entirely when one is lost in contemplation, memory, or longing.

My name is Kangli, born in 2006. I grew up in Canada and I am currently an undergraduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. My practice centers around painting and drawing, with a primary focus on portraiture aiming to explore quiet emotional states and emotional stillness that often go unnoticed. I’m interested in capturing the still, introspective moments that often pass unnoticed.