Mimi Ding
Mimi Ding is a painter based in Los Angeles. She received her BFA in painting from Pratt Institute in 2021 and her MFA in painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023. She works mainly in oil, egg tempera, watercolor, acrylic, and crayons. Through the intricacies of the mediums and personal/archetypal symbols, she creates nuanced narratives that tell of tragedy and hope, powerlessness and resilience, jokes, and visual puns.
Collect Bean: What role does color play in your practice?
Mimi Ding: I use colors quite spontaneously in my practice, I let my whim make a start, and then it becomes a private game for me to reach a point of complexity and harmony with respect to colors. So I guess the role of color to me is a stimulating mental activity, I don’t want my colors to be boring, but I also don’t want them to be jarring while using the traits of colors to weave meaning into the work in conjunction with the other aspects of the painting.
Collect Bean: Are there any recurring themes or motifs in your art, and if so, what do they represent to you?
Mimi Ding: Nature and people have always been two major aspects of my work. I find myself always drawn to using motifs of animals, trees, sky and land, bodies of water, and always the presence of people. Aside from these elements co-existing in one image as they co-exist in one world, I use them to point to the connection that the physical world around us has with our psychological world so that these motifs become more than what they seem, and they take on multiple possible meanings that may be different for each person seeing the painting.
Collect Bean: What is something that you do to stay focused?
Mimi Ding: To stay focused, I keep my house clean, I have a weekly routine, I write my ideas down on paper, and I get out of the house to look at the world. It’s very difficult to do all these things, so a lot of the time, I am not focused, but I am always trying my best, and that’s the best anyone can say about anyone.
Collect Bean: What does an ideal day in your studio look like?
Mimi Ding: An ideal day in my studio would start with a full belly, I’d have no stressful distractions in my mind. I’d walk into my studio and shut the door with several ideas in my head that I’m excited to execute. I’d find no lack of surfaces to work on, which I would have made ready by myself in previous days. I’d paint with some music on, for 3-4 hours, with breaks in between, until the paintings have reached a point where I can stop for the day and my hands are slightly sore. Then I’d end the day with a full meal.
Collect Bean: How do you approach the balance between experimentation and consistency in your art?
Mimi Ding: I think experimentation and consistency are two things that should come simultaneously to an artist who is always after what they are really interested in. Because an art practice is integral to the artist’s person, and there is no point in lying to yourself. If an artist is making work that’s true to themself, consistency comes naturally, even if there are variations in the work as they experiment. I think I achieve the balance when I am being true to what my interests are and not being afraid of change or anxious about outside opinions.
