Liying Zhao is a Chinese-born British artist whose work brings together observation, imagination and symbolism. Working across painting, drawing and printmaking, she explores the relationship between the individual and the wider world, often combining elements of fiction and reality within a single image.

Her work incorporates recurring motifs including figures, trees, butterflies, stones and architectural forms, which are used to suggest ideas of freedom, boundaries, resilience and identity. She works in a wide range of media including oil, acrylic, charcoal, pastel, watercolour and Chinese ink.

Born in China in 1978, Zhao studied Printmaking at the China Academy of Art, completing her BA in 2002 and MA in 2009. She subsequently lived in Hong Kong and Paris before settling in London in 2019.

Zhao has exhibited internationally and was elected a member of the Small Paintings Group in 2026.