"Hung Liu In Print" (Jan 19 - Jul 8, 2018) - National Museum of Women in the Arts

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A new year brings new openings.

Hung Liu In Print

"Hung Liu In Print invites viewers to explore the relationship between the artist’s multi-layered paintings and the palpable, physical qualities of her works on paper. To make her prints, Liu (b.1948) uses an array of printing and collage techniques, developing highly textured surfaces, veils of color, and screens of drip marks that transform the figures in each composition. Describing printmaking as “poetry,” she emphasizes the spontaneity of the layering process, which allows each image to build organically with each successive layer.

Before immigrating to California in 1984, Liu grew up during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in China, where she worked alongside fieldworkers and trained as a painter. Adapting figures from historical Chinese photographs, Liu reimagines antique depictions of laborers, refugees, and prostitutes. Her multifaceted oeuvre probes the human condition and confronts issues of culture, identity, and personal and national history.

Best known as a painter, Liu ably translates the “weeping realism” that characterizes her canvases into the medium of prints. This focus exhibition highlights selected prints from the collection of the National Museum of Women in the Arts as well as the artist’s related tapestry designs."

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This is a lovely little exhibit.  It is located in the small one-room gallery just before the great hall and comprises about a dozen works.

I was definitely a fan of her work before seeing this show and it was great seeing the pieces I had already seen in the context of her other works. 

Since it's a small show that runs until July 8, I would recommend seeing it in conjunction with seeing one of NMWA's other shows or visiting on one of their free community days.

A great exhibit for people who are fans of printmaking and collage.

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One more!

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Nameless but Not Forgotten: Hung Liu’s Portraits

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I made a return visit to this exquisite show over the weekend.  Closes July 8.

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News today that Hung Liu has passed.