Danqi Qian
Aug 13, 2025
Hi Danqi! Glad to have you today! Can you walk us through your background and how you became an artist?
I went to China Academy of Art for undergrad, my major was Digital Interactive Arts, where I learnt UIUX design (which is great for finding jobs). But during my freshmen year, we had a whole year to do fine art practice. Our teacher would show us works from David Hockney, Rothko, and Peter Doig. It was mind-blowing to me because before that year, all the fine-art-related education I received was how to paint very realistically with so-called accurate colors. I hated art until my favorite teacher told us our class shouldn’t be competitive because everyone has their own unique style. Every week we have to come up with 20 small drawings, it was hard but I remember one Sunday afternoon, I was like damn this is so fun - just painting whatever I want. I wish I could do this for my life.
But soon this thought drifted away because I got interested in making installations, that’s why I went to a NYU Tisch master's program - Interactive Telecommunications Program, where I did a bunch of physical installations using Web Development, AR/VR, and physical computing, etc. I loved it until covid hits. Everything became digital.
Then I realized I have to find a job and fix my visa lol.
Until 2024, 3rd year after graduating from my grad school, I felt burnt out and bored from my full-time job. I was eager for some uncertainty in my life, and painting happened to be the entrance to that. I started to paint in a 1-square-meter corner in my bedroom using oil pastel.
Then I joined an SVA summer residency while having my full-time job; it was mind-blowing again. I remember the first day at orientation, I was surrounded by artists only. It was a blast of joy for me. Because I used to be around different stakeholders at work, where we talked about facts instead of feelings. Nothing wrong, it’s just different.
Then I took a leap of faith, I quit my full-time job to do art in my Bushwick studio!
I went to China Academy of Art for undergrad, my major was Digital Interactive Arts, where I learnt UIUX design (which is great for finding jobs). But during my freshmen year, we had a whole year to do fine art practice. Our teacher would show us works from David Hockney, Rothko, and Peter Doig. It was mind-blowing to me because before that year, all the fine-art-related education I received was how to paint very realistically with so-called accurate colors. I hated art until my favorite teacher told us our class shouldn’t be competitive because everyone has their own unique style. Every week we have to come up with 20 small drawings, it was hard but I remember one Sunday afternoon, I was like damn this is so fun - just painting whatever I want. I wish I could do this for my life.
But soon this thought drifted away because I got interested in making installations, that’s why I went to a NYU Tisch master's program - Interactive Telecommunications Program, where I did a bunch of physical installations using Web Development, AR/VR, and physical computing, etc. I loved it until covid hits. Everything became digital.
Then I realized I have to find a job and fix my visa lol.
Until 2024, 3rd year after graduating from my grad school, I felt burnt out and bored from my full-time job. I was eager for some uncertainty in my life, and painting happened to be the entrance to that. I started to paint in a 1-square-meter corner in my bedroom using oil pastel.
Then I joined an SVA summer residency while having my full-time job; it was mind-blowing again. I remember the first day at orientation, I was surrounded by artists only. It was a blast of joy for me. Because I used to be around different stakeholders at work, where we talked about facts instead of feelings. Nothing wrong, it’s just different.
Then I took a leap of faith, I quit my full-time job to do art in my Bushwick studio!
Really appreciate your sharing your whole journey. Now that you have become a full-time artist after quitting your job, what materials do you find most interesting to work with?
I use oil pastel and oil with Gamsol a lot. I like oil pastel because it has an instant connection with my mind. I’m trying to use oil to mimic the oil pastel texture so it’s easier to transport, and it’s easier to have different layers, which is hard to achieve with oil pastel.
Your work uses a lot of colors in an abstract sense, and they give me a feeling of dreams, creating a mental space. Can you talk about this approach in your artmaking process?
Yes, I use only 3 colors as the base - red, green, and blue. It’s the primary colors that are the foundation of everything. I use white oil pastel to scrape the dots so they merge into a line with a sense of dynamic movement. I have a key element of ‘current’ in my work, each current flows and interacts with other Current elements, they form a new Current in the end. It’s inspired by Taoist philosophy - one begets two, two begets three, three begets everything.
I want to depict the mental state where memory, consciousness, and subconsciousness are present and interacting, like a hot yoga.
Is there a piece of work that is meaningful to you? What was the process like creating it?
This piece(image below) means a lot to me because it’s the first painting after I had my Neck Herniated Disc surgery. I received lots of love and support from my friends and family. I use colors and dynamic movements of the dots to depict the moments when I was being recharged with love.
Besides painting, you also worked as a commercial motion visual artist. Can you share some stories on that part of your story?
Yes I still am, I like doing motion and being in the job pool. It’s a different world where everything is very literal and has clear paths, it’s where cold emails are welcomed lol. I actually enjoy being forever collaborating and contributing to different projects now, and I've met lots of friends through work. I once had to do 3 jobs at the same time! It was hard, but I feel grateful to be able to work on some cool projects for big brands.
How is working with digital media different from working with fine arts mediums, physically and emotionally?
I think for me personally, when working with digital mediums, it’s more about the final look, to learn the newest software and techniques. I want my work to be flashy and eye-catching. Also, now it’s more of a way to help my clients reach their goal, eg, bring life to their products or promote a campaign; every execution has logical design thinking.
When I’m working with fine art mediums, it’s more about process. My painting is a world where everything is up to me, I can make the sky purple or an apple blue for no reason at all, just because. I can spend a week working on a painting, then I hate it, I scrape it. But it can still become some interesting texture in the background.
If I do that in After Effects or Cinema 4D I’ll be so stressed lol, I feel a little bit of it just by imagining I delete my keyframes.
Looking forward, are there any new media or themes you're excited to explore next?
I’m exploring painting just flowers and learning the texture on them. Idk, I think flowers are just so pretty, and it’s pure pleasure when looking at them. I want to stop thinking about meanings and just paint stuff I like because I think meaning is overrated.
How is working with digital media different from working with fine arts mediums, physically and emotionally?
I think for me personally, when working with digital mediums, it’s more about the final look, to learn the newest software and techniques. I want my work to be flashy and eye-catching. Also, now it’s more of a way to help my clients reach their goal, eg, bring life to their products or promote a campaign; every execution has logical design thinking.
When I’m working with fine art mediums, it’s more about process. My painting is a world where everything is up to me, I can make the sky purple or an apple blue for no reason at all, just because. I can spend a week working on a painting, then I hate it, I scrape it. But it can still become some interesting texture in the background.
If I do that in After Effects or Cinema 4D I’ll be so stressed lol, I feel a little bit of it just by imagining I delete my keyframes.
Looking forward, are there any new media or themes you're excited to explore next?
I’m exploring painting just flowers and learning the texture on them. Idk, I think flowers are just so pretty, and it’s pure pleasure when looking at them. I want to stop thinking about meanings and just paint stuff I like because I think meaning is overrated.