Max Li is an interdisciplinary artist from China, currently based in Chicago.

He holds an MFA from the University of Chicago and a BFA with Honors from the University of California, Irvine. His practice spans photography, tintype, object making, and contemporary digital tools, exploring the sacred vs. the everyday, memory, and transition, articulated through time-based records of experience.

Max serves as the Artistic Director of Big House Studio, a creative studio engaged in full-service design and production projects. His arts and cultural consultation work—including portfolio review, strategic guidance, and project development—has helped partners secure opportunities, gain recognition, build new relationships, and establish timeless, multi-medium archives.

In Chicago, Max also serves as the Arts Czar & Events Manager at the historic First Presbyterian Church of Chicago on the South Side, where he collaborates with community members and artists to activate the church’s spaces through exhibitions, performances, communal dinners, workshops, and other site-responsive programs.


For conversation, showing, and other thoughts,
please email: omaxlgzo@gmail.com

Current Position:

Art Director, Big House Studio

Arts Czar (Art Director), The First Presbyterian Church of Chicago

Brand Manager, Molosco Porcelain