Li Huayi (Chinese, born 1948). Pinetree Against Rock (深壑勁松), 2012. Ink and color on silk, 26.5 × 25 cm. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Li Huayi in honor of the new Chinese galleries, 2016.29. © artist or artist's estate

This painting by Li Huayi harks back in both format and subject matter to twelfth- and thirteenth-century Song-dynasty painting. Here, the artist highlights the struggle of the trees to survive, backlit by an ethereal mist created by numerous layers of ink wash. The landscape evokes the rugged mountain cliffs and topography of northern California, where Li now lives.