About
Artist Bio
Illi is a Chicago-based artist mainly working on digital mediums, gouache and acrylic. Her stylistic influences stem from Japanese shin-hanga art and anime. Her bold, colorful work centers around her Filipino heritage, childhood obsessions and reverence for the brown female figure. She has been featured in the New York Times, collaborated with streetwear brand Abakada and illustrated a book for the Smithsonian.
Artist statement
Illi's art uses techniques of detailed graphic line work inspired by manga masters like Takehiko Inuoe and combines it with the shin-hanga art style to create elements of light and expressions of mood. Bright, bold and brimming with blue as the dominant color, her work creates a sense of balance by juxtaposing stoic subjects against elements of smoke and petals to depict movement.
Featured in:
Filipino-American Artist Directory
Published books:
We Are Here - 30 Inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Shaped the United States