Monthly Archives: August 2021

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The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery presents “Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands”

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will present “Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands,” the artist’s first portrait retrospective and the first major exhibition of his work on the East Coast. Showcasing more than 50 paintings, photographs and drawings, the Portrait Gallery exhibition will examine the powerful art of Hung Liu (1948-2021), from his first photographs and drawings made in the early 1970s to his recent large-scale paintings. . Liu, who was born in Changchun, China, experienced political revolution, exile and displacement before immigrating to the United States in 1984.

Liu’s “Portraits of the Promised Lands” depict members of his family as well as anonymous subjects. Over the course of five decades, she has portrayed refugees, female soldiers, migrant workers, sex workers, orphaned children and other neglected individuals, whom she described as lost souls or “ghost spirits”. “. Liu reinvented their stories and honored them with his brush.

“Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands”, curated by Dorothy Moss, Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery, is part of the Smithsonian American Women’s History, “Because of Her Story” initiative. The richly illustrated catalog of the exhibition is published by the National Portrait Gallery in association with Yale University Press.

The last

Mandatory readings

This week, the world’s largest Pokémon card collector, how a photojournalist was killed in Afghanistan, Dan Hancox and Kasia Tomasiewicz, writing for Coda, discuss how children’s toys can normalize surveillance, ‘awake’ co-opt and more Again.


Revisiting the joy of pattern and decoration

The Pattern and Decoration movement was a hard assault on traditions that were both ancient and oppressive. It was also an explosion of joyfully released impulses.


Applications are open from September 1 to November 1 for this annual art competition and exhibition in Lake City, South Carolina.


Caroline Kent’s installation practically vibrates with the energy of quasi-connection and quasi-meaning.


Ellen Dillon’s verdict on Mallarmé’s educational text? Quite tottering.


Expressions of interest for the Artistic Director are due by 5:00 p.m. EST (3:00 a.m. EST) on Monday, September 27, 2021.


It remains to be seen whether future critics will see the film as a triumph against the tide or a futile provocation.



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Hung Liu, American artist of Chinese descent with an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, recalls

Hung Liu in his studio with Rat Year 2020, 2020; oil on linen canvas and mixed media on wood panel, each: 64 x 100 in. (162.6 x 254 cm), Diptych. Photo by John Janca. Artwork © Hung Liu

Artist Hung Liu, born in Changchun, China, in 1948, died at the age of 73 in California. (Find out more in ARTnews)

Kim Sajet, director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, made the following statement on the passing of Hung Liu, just weeks before the museum’s upcoming exhibition “Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands”, the first major presentation of the art. from Liu on the east coast:

“The National Portrait Gallery mourns the death of Hung Liu, whose extraordinary artistic vision reminds us that even in the midst of despair, there is hope, and when people help each other, there is joy. She believed in the power of art and portraiture to change the world, ”said Kim Sajet, director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

“We are grateful that during Hung Liu’s last week, Dorothy Moss, the curator of the exhibition, was able to travel to Oakland, Calif., To meet the artist,” Sajet noted. Liu, who was instrumental in the design of the installation and its accompanying catalog, approved the final layout of the exhibition and admired the completed book. She shared her belief in the potential from the exhibition to conveying his hopes for the future, a future based on a foundation of empathy for others. ”

“The museum’s upcoming portrait retrospective of Liu will celebrate a life and career dedicated to honoring the stories of those at risk of being forgotten. Devoid of platitude or cliché, Liu’s artistic practice has always been anchored in history by transforming marginalized subjects into monumental, heroic and contemporary figures. Her generous and vibrant spirit is alive in everything she has done and is powerfully present throughout the installation of what will be the final presentation of her curated art during her lifetime.

About his work, Liu said, “We don’t need a language, but we can communicate across time and space; there is something beyond that connects us. The exhibition “Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands” opens on August 27.


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