Kathy Liu: Painting Now 2024
- Kathy Liu
- 24 Oct—23 Nov 2024
- Eora / Sydney
With their enchanting enmeshment of abstraction and figuration, the paintings of Eora/Sydney-based artist Kathy Liu form a softly striking centrepiece for Painting Now – arriving after a string of successful group and solo exhibitions at our Murrurundi gallery. Now experiencing an exciting creative breakthrough that has seen a magnificent expansion of her work’s scope, Liu was recently the subject of an extensive profile in Belle magazine, which reflected on the intuitive process by which she brings her ethereal paintings to life.
What might begin as an exercise in loose, tonal abstraction can take a delightfully unexpected turn as her painterly pools begin to coalesce and enigmatic, inchoate figures emerge through diaphanous wafts of colour. “Sometimes it feels more as if I’m there to help the artworks find their own storylines,” says Liu, whose canvas becomes a conduit for adventures through imaginative worlds. “It reflects my subconscious, bringing up themes and narratives from my past life that I have almost forgotten. Lost memories of childhood, my love of mythology, some distant lines of poetry, all of these are unburied and rediscovered through my work.”
Redolent of hazy memories, nocturnal musings or half-remembered dreams, the resulting compositions feel alive with emotion, poeticism, a sense of magic and effervescent movement. From a smattering of stars and harlequin prints to merry-go-rounds, crescent moons and cuddly creatures, figurative elements all bubble up through overlapping, ethereal layers of pinks, greens and lolly hues, with these stories and characters recalling a childlike innocence and unfettered imagination.
But as with the circus paintings of Chagall and Picasso – both cited as influences – there could be a tinge of melancholy in these dreamlike scenes. The ephemerality of childhood amusements is echoed by a gossamer quality that sees fragmentary images on the cusp of emerging or just fading away – an ambiguity that rhymes with her fluid, freeform approach and the serendipitous possibilities of her abstract painting practice.
Liu’s Painting Now series is an exciting triumph for an artist whose practice is going from strength to strength. To discuss works from the series, please email dean@michaelreid.com.au
What were some of your early influences and how do they continue to inform your practice?
One of the artists who has influenced me since the very start of my career is Odilon Redon. The intuitive nature of his approach and his acceptance of the accidental and the indeterminate are all aspects of his practice that are echoed within my own.
What initially drew you to painting and how have you developed your practice?
I simply love the act of painting – and with it, to create. I often start a painting loosely without a predetermined concept. It is interesting that it doesn’t matter where I start, I inevitably stumble on some unified themes, such as the circus or imaginative creatures, which may relate to my subconscious mind.
What have been some of your favourite career experiences?
Being a finalist in last year’s National Emerging Art Prize. This program provided me with valuable opportunities to showcase my work and allowed me to push my creative boundaries to new extents.
Could you tell us about the works featured in Painting Now?
When I begin to work on my paintings, I choose a colour palette, and from there, I build up my ideas throughout the process. This group of works reflect, most of all, the subjects of my subconscious mind: memories from the past, impressions of old myths, an unfinished story or a forgotten lyric.
Is there a narrative or throughline in your Painting Now series? Does this reflect the direction of your practice at the moment?
I think my paintings aren’t restricted to a defined narrative. For me, narrative is a blurred and unintentional reflection of my subconscious. They are ambiguous and open-ended. With an imaginative side of perception, the works can be interpreted differently for each viewer.
