Aviva Cai ’24 uses her personal experiences to inspire her artwork.
For Aviva Cai ’24, art has been a beloved passion and mode of expression for years. Cai began her journey in the visual arts at a young age, developing her skills and identity as an artist over time and expanding into a variety of mediums. In the past few years specifically, she has invested her time and showcased her skills in a handful of art courses at Andover, as well as through the Illustration section of The Phillipian.
“I started taking art lessons since elementary school. I started with watercolor and then I became invested in oil painting… A lot of people said I wasn’t bad at it. And that kept me going at first because [I got] external validation. But as I continued to do more art and grow as a person in general, I realized that it’s something that I really enjoy doing [and] want to pursue throughout my life because of how much I can express myself with it,” said Cai.
Cai is particularly drawn towards art as a method of expression for her emotions and ideas, emphasizing its special ability to communicate without words.
“I’m kind of scared to express myself through words… It’s like ‘What if I say something wrong?’ or ‘What if other people disagree?’ But then… you can’t really criticize someone’s insights through art. And I feel safe doing it and that’s why I really like it… if I feel sad or down, but I don’t know why or how to solve it, drawing or painting helps me calm down and is like meditation for me,” said Cai.
Much of Cai’s inspiration for her art is derived from her inner self. She draws based on her personal feelings, choosing colors, textures, and mediums that reflect her identity and experiences. Cai noted that a lot of her pieces tend to explore more negative and somber themes, serving as an emotional outlet.
“I made this piece over the summer, two summers ago, at [Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)] Pre-College. It’s a self-portrait. I was inspired by how I’m always scared of the passage of time growing up… that I can never experience the same thing [I’m experiencing now] again… I feel like most paintings I make are rooted from my worries, my sadness, the things I’m anxious about, or things I constantly think about. And that’s… part of [the] inspiration… I actually talked with Vera Zhang [’24] and a lot of other friends and through talking I kind of learned what colors [and] what kind of materials [I should use],” said Cai.
Despite the subdued concepts of her art, Laerdon Kim ’24, a friend of Cai, highlighted her bright and creative energy that lends itself to her talent as an artist. He stated that her art not only exhibits incredible technical skill, but also carries an emotional weight that deeply touches viewers.
“Aviva has a type of bright energy that very few other people I’ve ever met have. She has a certain romantic creativity that bleeds into everything she does… If I were her, I’d be an artist too. If I saw the world the way she sees the world it would be impossible to not be artistic in one way or another… the depictions of very ordinary scenes can seem… otherworldly when her hand is on the brush… There’s a difference between being as technically gifted and talented as she is and being able to imbue her work with the level of closeness and familiarity I [get] when [I] see her art. I think that’s a really special thing that I aspire to emulate,” said Kim.
Having been an artist for so long, Cai inevitably faced challenges as she developed her personal artistry. In retrospect, she realized that for a portion of time she was creating art that wasn’t meaningful to her, and solely focused on the aesthetic value of it. However, by learning from and connecting with other artists, she started to find purpose in her art.
“I realize that [during] that period, the art I made was very shallow. I only cared about if it looks good, if it looks realistic. And there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just that… after meeting with people who also do art, and [going to] the RISD Pre-College program, I grew as an artist and began to make art that expresses my insights more rather than the surface-level aesthetic,” said Cai.
Cai hopes to continue moving forward as an artist, pursuing art that grapples with complex and personal subjects. Through her work, she wants to provide an outlet not only for her own self-reflection and expression, but for her viewers as well.
“I want to continue to create works with themes of self-exploration and interrogation. I want to… empower myself to face my vulnerabilities and hopefully empower others who might relate to my art and embark on a journey of personal growth,” said Cai.
