“Spring Fever” currently on display at Yiwei Gallery
By Keemia Zhang
Local artist Jesse Liu has opened her first solo art exhibition in Venice, titled Spring Fever, at the Yiwei Gallery.
The exhibition, which opened on March 4, features oil-on-canvas paintings described as “mesmerizing” and “illusionary” that feature surreal environments and postures, often showing relationships between women. The exhibition is open through April 2.
Liu was born in Beijing, and first began seriously studying art in college. “I started learning more about it when I came to New York, for the school of visual arts.” Much of her paintings are based on her real-life memories and emotions, captured in an artistic manner.
The artist credits Edward Monk and Paul Gogan as inspirations, and says that her art helps bring her imagination to life. “When I painted these fragments in a representational kind of way, that I can actually see and physically touch them, they exist in this reality, rather than in my head, which is why I chose oil paints as my medium.”
Liu graduated from university in 2022 with a degree in illustration, and began work on the exhibition in September of last year. Her work typically features Asian women, using a variety of color palettes and soft textures. “All of these memory fragments inspire me. I came to believe that these memories record the emotions we experience better than objective fact.”
For her future career, Liu hopes that she paints “whatever that I feel like to paint. I want to have more shows and I hope more people can see my art.” During her first show, Liu enjoys the connection her paintings have with the viewers, and believes their own perspective creates “a sense of Renaissance. I just really enjoy that kind of feeling.
On her first ever exhibition, Liu notes that “she feels good about it, I’m very excited.” The title of the show invokes much of the naturalistic imagery in Liu’s art, such as “leaves and trees in my paintings, so we came to an agreement on having the name Spring Fever as the solo title of my show. “
During her artistic process, Liu says she first thinks “of a storyline, and I try to recall some of my treasured memories, and then I start to think of the composition – how to make the figures pose and how to tell the story through painting. I try to recall what I felt in that moment in order to have a color palette for each painting,to make it less realistic and more fantastical.”
Liu is currently based in California, and lives with her family. “I’m starting a new series, and I hope that I can have more opportunities in L.A or New York, or back in China in Beijing or Shanghai.”
To learn more about Liu, check out her Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jessejing/
To learn more about the exhibit, visit https://yiweigallery.com/jesse-jinghan-liu
