Charlene Liu: Before the Storm
September 8 – October 13, 2007
Opening Reception: Saturday September 8th, 2007 6pm-9pm
From September 8 – October 13, Taylor De Cordoba will present Before the Storm, marking the Los Angeles debut of Charlene Liu. In this exhibition of new works on paper and panel, the artist uses a combination of hand dyed paper, oil, ink and watercolor to create abstract landscapes. The gallery will host an opening reception for the artist on Saturday Sept. 8 from 6 – 9PM.
In Before the Storm, Liu depicts microcosms of nature. As allegories, they remind us that forces of nature are beyond our control. She creates a world in flux; flowers turning to minerals, pebbles to flowers, plant to water, animal to plant. She evokes invented landscapes from the abstracted patterns of color, shape and light. There is stillness in the work, but also a tension that without warning, a spontaneous re-configuration could alter the landscape.
In Mad Bloom, she invites viewers to peer through the interior of a vibrantly hued plant. In Dewdrop, she creates a deconstructed portrait of a plant changing into a water-like state. Some pieces have a more ominous tone. In Uneven Orbit, polka-dotted legs and arms float amidst a swell of flowers and an ambiguous natural force, as if caught. The delicate and ephemeral in nature become harbingers of ensuing change and agents of chaos. Liu’s landscapes serve as reminders of the unceasing potential for metamorphosis in the natural world.
The power and beauty of Liu’s work relies on her mastery of materials and her mixed media process. Liu “paints” with hand dyed, marbleized papers, which she collages alongside watercolor, oil and ink. The seamless integration of these techniques allows Liu to express the movement, cycles and processes found in nature.
Charlene Liu graduated with a MFA from Columbia University in 2003. Her works were recently exhibited in Virgil de Voldere Gallery in New York, Galleria Il Capricorno in Italy, and Andrea Rosen Gallery 2 in New York. The artist resides and works in New York City and Eugene, OR.