Lihan artwork
By Jillian Whitaker, this article was originally published in the Living With Art section of ISLAND Magazine’s February 2023 issue.
“I’ve always wanted to be an architect. It’s been my dream since I was just 12 years old,” Christina Lihan says. After receiving her Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University, she set out to fulfill her childhood dream, taking a position at an architectural practice in Paris, France and later setting down roots in her native South Florida.
After a string of jobs at local architecture firms, Lihan couldn’t help but feel like she was missing something. “I wasn’t happy,” she says. “I realized that I was bored, and I needed a creative outlet.” In her free time, she began building models of cityscapes, skyscrapers and other structures out of paper. She started small ––– creating the occasional greeting card for a friend ––– and then went bigger.
Soon her home was full of 24″ x 32″ paper models of her favorite Miami Beach buildings – among them the Breakwater Hotel, the Plymouth Hotel and the Carlyle. Next, she moved on to other structures that she had admired during her travels. She would spend weeks brooding over each layer, making sure that hers was an exact replication of the original. “I love the complexity of recreating the architectural elements of Art Deco buildings. They look so simple, but there is so much to them.” she says. “But when I tried to sell them, nothing happened.”
Many years and a move to an architectural firm in Atlanta later, Lihan was exhibiting her art at a local show, where she was noticed by a gallerist. She had her first solo show in 2005 at the Atlanta-based Mason Murer Fine Art Gallery, which finally gave her paper reliefs the credit they deserved. A few years later, she quit full-time architecture altogether.
“I loved architecture,” Lihan says, “but I didn’t love the business part. I have an artist’s soul, and it just didn’t fit in to what I was doing.” Today, she is back in South Florida, constructing her paper passions out of her studio off Las Olas. The only difference this time around is that her work is in demand and on display.
Lihan has had successful solo shows in Fort Lauderdale, as well as a fabulous installation at New York’s Flatiron Building recently entitled “Constructing Manhattan from the Razor’s Edge”. Her work has been exhibited at the Red Dot Art Fair during Art Basel. Much of her work today is in the form of private commissions – often of a favorite landmark they want Lihan’s rendition of. For example, one recent, private commission was of “Rydhave”, the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Denmark, presented to the U.S. Ambassador.
Lihan’s work has been exhibited far and wide, from a group exhibition at Art Link in Miami’s Wynwood Art District, to a juried exhibition by the Hilton Head Art League’s in South Carolina, to Tel Aviv, Israel for the International Exhibition of Paper Artists.
Her artistic prowess knows no limits: Over the years, she’s replicated the grandeur of Addison Mizner-designed homes in Palm Beach, captured the spirit of Miami Beach, and taken on recreating architectural details of international landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and Taj Mahal.
Having perfected her craft over two decades, no detail is overlooked in Lihan’s current work, even strong shadows have been incorporated into her stark white designs giving them a dramatic, chiaroscuro effect. ISLAND magazine is honored to share her work.