Hung Liu

Hung Liu was a contemporary Chinese painter. Widely recognized for her large, painterly depictions of traditional and contemporary Chinese women, children, and refugees in muted, earthy hues, Hung began producing art in the early 1970s, experimenting with painting as a method for social change and critique. Her artwork is often described as a hybrid of her own personal experience with the Cultural Revolution and the Maoist regime, as well as an appropriation of the themes and styles of historic and contemporary Chinese painting.

Her work notably draws from both the imagery of ancient Chinese art, as well as the Chinese Socialist Realist style of painting in which she was originally trained. She received extensive honors and awards for her work, including two painting fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Joan Mitchell Fellowship.

She was born in Changchun, China on February 17, 1948, and passed away on August 7, 2021 at her home in Oakland, California at the age of 73.

Photo by Emily Haight