Alli Conrad (b. 1995) is a Chinese-American artist based in Los Angeles who specializes in simplified realism oil paintings. Conrad describes her work as nostalgic and romantic. In her artistic process, she sources historical photographs and contemplates their relationship to time and how they play with fiction and non-fiction. Conrad extracts figures, specifically unknown women,found in the photographs to examine the impact of identity, femininity and modern culture. She is particularly interested in their body language,silhouettes, and outfits. For Conrad, an outfit’s fabric and folds are very much alive, vocal, in motion, and a container for an indirect emotion. In her canvases,she zooms in and crops the “effortless” folds in the clothing as well as the subject’s hands, examining how they adapt, modify, and move. Through the absence of her faceless characters, Conrad is drawn towards the clues and stories held in both clothing and hand gesture - elements she believes are “just as alive as humans"creating an endless possibility of narratives.
In 2023, Conrad had her first solo show at Août Gallery in Beirut. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions at Sow & Tailor, Los Angeles (2023); Vain Projects, Hong Kong (2023); Shit Art Club, Los Angeles (2022); Arushi Gallery, Los Angeles (2022); Anat Ebgi Gallery, Los Angeles (2022); Arushi Arts,Los Angeles (2020); and Superposition Gallery, Los Angeles (2019). Conrad has had several mural projects throughout Los Angeles at UCLA (2021); Full Service Coffee Co. (2021); Arc Capital Partners (2020); and Jade Enterprises (2019). In 2022, she was selected to participate in the RAMA Residency in Lisbon, Portugal. Conrad’s work has been featured in Cultured Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily, Overstandard, and Notch Magazine, to name a few.