Crystal Liu and Qi Yu: One on One

Galerie du Monde presents a dual solo exhibition featuring all new works by artists Crystal Liu (b. Toronto, 1980) and Qi Yu (b. Xiamen, 1969). Each of these artists engages in different practices and are at notably different stages in their career, while both draw inspiration from ink art, a link which is visible in their different practices.

Crystal Liu now visits Hong Kong for her very first solo exhibition here. Liu is inspired by natural elements, such as the night, stars, clouds, mountains, trees, blood, water, owls, octopuses and flowers, which she transforms through her paintings to form a multitude of characters, evoking emotions and enacting stories based on the artist’s personal experiences of joy and sorrow. Her paintings can be likened to Chinese landscape paintings, where each stroke and layer is deliberate and considered. Through her choice of subject matter, and her wide-ranging use of materials, Liu’s work is a careful balance of humour and macabre. For this exhibition at Galerie du Monde, Liu will be presenting an entirely new body of work to her first audience in Hong Kong.

Qi Yu returns to Galerie du Monde following the success of Inkchronicity, a group exhibition at the gallery which took place in January 2015. Qi Yu has been working for a number of years on ceramic paintings, which are influenced by the heritage of porcelain and ink painting. The artist’s father is a revered porcelain artist in China, and Qi Yu has subsequently grown up surrounded by art form and traditional techniques, still visiting his father to source the porcelain he uses in his own practice today.
In producing his contemporary ceramic paintings, technique lies not only in moulding and baking the ceramic, but cooling it in such a way that the surface cracks and the work is deliberately crumbled. The artist then pieces the fragments together on canvas before colouring them with ink and glazes. While this technique separates him from the context of traditional ceramics, his work remains a reflection on the heritage of tradition and the very nature of porcelain as a material. In addition to the new ceramic paintings, the artist will also create a number of ceramic sculptures that have been specially made for this exhibition.