Hu Liu is a painter born in 1982 in Xinyang, Henan Province, China.
Hu Liu's monochromatic black drawings are created with graphite, repeating iterations of the same movement, line by line, to reveal the essence of natural elements: grass caressed by the wind, the sway of waves or the silhouette of branches from a tree.
Although the entire surface of each drawing is covered and may appear monochromatic, her works are not black: they are, according to the artist, xuan. The word can mean "dark" or "mysterious" and evokes the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, who encourage carefree wandering, "inaction" (無為, wúwéi), natural spontaneity based on stillness and the absence of thought. «The spatial and temporal changes caused by the growth of a life form are wonderful and magical, like the creation of a work of art; They are all driven by the forces generated by the primitive power of life. A drawing inscribed directly on the ground evokes the Wagh Bakri, the game of the tiger and the goat, and invites visitors to become participants just by their presence.
The Cartier Foundation presented Hu Liu's works at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, on the occasion of the exhibition Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, A Beautiful Elsewhere (2018) and Trees (2021), as well as at the Milan Triennale on the occasion of the Mondo Reale exhibition (2022).
Hu Liu's monochromatic black drawings are created with graphite, repeating iterations of the same movement, line by line, to reveal the essence of natural elements: grass caressed by the wind, the sway of waves or the silhouette of branches from a tree.
Although the entire surface of each drawing is covered and may appear monochromatic, her works are not black: they are, according to the artist, xuan. The word can mean "dark" or "mysterious" and evokes the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, who encourage carefree wandering, "inaction" (無為, wúwéi), natural spontaneity based on stillness and the absence of thought. «The spatial and temporal changes caused by the growth of a life form are wonderful and magical, like the creation of a work of art; They are all driven by the forces generated by the primitive power of life. A drawing inscribed directly on the ground evokes the Wagh Bakri, the game of the tiger and the goat, and invites visitors to become participants just by their presence.
The Cartier Foundation presented Hu Liu's works at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, on the occasion of the exhibition Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, A Beautiful Elsewhere (2018) and Trees (2021), as well as at the Milan Triennale on the occasion of the Mondo Reale exhibition (2022).
