"Hardly Soft" is on view from Nov 18th to Nov 26th
Jesse Liu: Spring Fever
Curated by Yiwei Lu
Yiwei Gallery is pleased to announce the debut solo exhibition Spring Fever by artist Jesse Jinghan Liu who has just embarked on her career.
This exhibition showcases a series of her captivating paintings, each with a unique narrative. By delving into the nuances of memory and others’ experiences, Liu strives to create pieces that evoke contemplation, empathy, and connection.
Exhibition Duration: March 4 - April 2, 2023
Artist Reception: Saturday, March 4, 2-5 pm
Artist Talk: April 2, 2:30pm - 4pm
About the Artist
Jesse Liu
An artist originally from Beijing, spent her high school years in South Carolina and is currently based in California. She obtained her degree in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2022. Her artwork primarily utilizes oil-based mediums and is inspired by the intricacies of daily life, which she interweaves with her personal experiences. By skillfully utilizing vibrant colors and an interplay of light and shadow, Jesse's pieces evoke a range of emotions within distinct contexts. Her dynamic compositions prioritize storytelling and frequently create an air of intrigue and romance.
Through Liu's sophisticatedly rendered paintings, she captures the fragmented nature of memory and how our recollections are shaped by emotion, perception, and the passage of time. She searches for small, inadvertent moments and simple recollections, weaving them into her paintings.
Liu has a deep fascination with the concept of memory, pondering whether what we remember from the past is what actually happened. Her understanding is that memory itself is a fruit of subjective consciousness, registering emotions at a specific moment rather than an objective fact.
Her paintings are condensed and illusory, combining imagined worlds with personal emotions, invoking stories and inviting viewers to connect with the raw, often vulnerable experiences depicted in each work.
Liu's choice of oil on canvas is significant as it allows her to store and layer her unique artistic presentations. Each painting has a distinct palette that corresponds to the atmosphere she felt and reflected in her work. When painting, she rejoins precious moments in a present matter.
People feature prominently in Liu's works. Through their interactions and relationships with one another, she explores how memory is intertwined with her social and emotional lives. Her paintings capture individuals lost in one parallel reality, appearing on the canvas surface, longing, playing, hiding, or seeking. They are not merely props on random occasions, but rather, complex individuals whose stories and relationships add depth and texture to each work.
In Spring Fever, Liu creates scenes of exquisite emotional depth and resonance. Her aim is to connect with the viewer, inviting them to share in the captivating and sometimes vulnerable experiences depicted in each work.
About the Curator
Yiwei Lu
Yiwei Lu is a Los Angeles-based curator and filmmaker with an extensive track record of curating exhibitions around the world, including in the U.S., France, Italy, and China. She is dedicated to discovering emerging artists and supporting artists from diverse backgrounds. In 2019, she founded Yiwei Gallery, initially curating pop-up exhibitions throughout LA before finding a permanent home on Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice. Alongside her curatorial work, Yiwei writes for two professional art magazines and directs and produces documentaries.
Related Events
Media Interview
Opening Recption
Artist Talk
Closing Reception
Artist Talk: Jesse Liu X Shana Nys Dambrot
To celebrate the closing of the exhibition on April 2nd, we're excited to invite you to an artist talk by the artist Jesse Liu and art critic Shana Nys Dambrot at 2：30pm.
Shana Nys Dambrot is an art critic, curator, and author based in Downtown LA. She is the Arts Editor for the L.A. Weekly, and a contributor to Flaunt and Artillery. She studied Art History at Vassar College, writes book and catalog essays, speaks at galleries, schools, and cultural institutions nationally, is an award-winning member of the LA Press Club and a recipient of the 2022 Rabkin Prize for Art Criticism. She'll be discussing Jesse's artistic practice, inspirations, and influences, as well as the themes and ideas behind the current exhibition. Jesse and Shana will also engage in a Q&A session, giving you the opportunity to ask your own questions and learn more about the artist's creative process.
