Elay Li was born in 1985 in Nakhcivan, Azerbaijan.
His main artistic destination is monochrome painting. In his artworks, he maintains figurations on the border of the invisible by studying the distribution of colour and the reflection of light on canvas. Elay Li does not paint in terms of transparencies and nuances, but controls the exact intensity of the brush stroke with which he delicately distributes and combs the colour, achieving a visual resonance on the surface. The light emphasises the textures and depth of the material, creating volumetric perceptions that shape characters, animals and objects.
He started his studies in 2002 at Nakhchivan State University and later enrolled at the Azerbaijan Academy of Fine Arts in Baku, where he graduated in 2010. In 2013, he decided to continue refining his studies and chose to move to Italy. After various artistic experiences in Bari and Naples, he aimed for Milan, where he enrolled at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and obtained a Master’s Degree in Painting in 2017.