Kristen Liu-Wong

Born and raised in San Francisco and based in Los Angeles, Kristen Liu-Wong attended Pratt Institute where she graduated with a BFA in Illustration. Kristen’s work blends everyday occurrences from her life with abstracted nightmares and crude humor. Trained as an illustrator, she tries to tell a story with every piece she makes, developing a personal and slightly sinister narrative within each painting. Using vibrant colors, heavy patterning, and tight compositions, the work draws inspiration from a variety of sources including but not limited to American folk art, the cartoons she watched as a kid, Shunga, and her appreciation for architecture. She strives to make work that is highly personal but altered enough to allow individual interpretations of every story she paints.

Exhibition

Artist Statement

And Who Has Seen the Moon, 2021, created for the group show "Protagonist" at Golden Hands Gallery, Hamburg, Germany

Until I Pop, 2020, created for my mini-solo "Futile Fruits" at New Image Art Gallery, Los Angeles

His Lips Were Quite Cold, 2020, created for my mini-solo "Futile Fruits" at New Image Art Gallery, Los Angeles

She Was Passionate about Her Collection, 2019, created for "Theriomorphism VI", an annual group show in Madrid on view at Galeria de Arte Kreisler and curated by Okuda San Miguel; this show focused on the concept of theriomorphism, or the transformation of a human into an animal either completely or partially, and the reverse transformation in a mythological or spiritual context. I made a series based on Ovid's "Metamorphoses" and this piece reimagines Medusa as Peggy Guggenheim, depicting a man as he flees from her while he begins to transform into another piece for her collection. The art in much of the painting are pieces from her own collection or her museum and the dog at her feet is a Lhasa Apso, a breed beloved by her.

Exhibition

Kristen Liu-Wong

Artwork

Exhibition

Artist Statement