Oasis

Oasis: Amy Liu's solo show opening November 8th – with the opening reception on Thursday, November 10th – at VillageOne Art, casts an intimate yet otherworldly lens on themes of identity, belonging and self-realization. The artist roots this body of work within a careful consideration of personal experience and art history topics in equal measure. To quote the Surrealist Manifesto by Andre Breton, “beloved imagination, what I like most in you is your unsparing quality.” This regard for imagination, such as that held within the dreamworld and the unconscious, for enacting transformation is explored in the introspective, saturated, neon and jewel-toned tableaux Liu presents in this formative solo exhibition with VillageOne Art. Reflecting on surviving personal trauma, Liu paints in dialogue with her journey toward developing self-love and acceptance along with a grateful sense of survival. The artist divides this exhibit into two distinct bodies of work, one of which engages with an intrinsic sense of divisiveness and ‘haunting sadness,’ as she explains, and a second segment of paintings in dialogue with an appreciation for personal growth and healing. As the artist eloquently elaborates, “Ultimately this is a story of becoming. It’s me rediscovering who I am under layers of facades and armor.”

Where Liu’s work entices and enchants is through its careful combination of visual reference points and tight compositional frameworks. Visual textures span vibrant neon hues in contrast with expansive, deep blues and purples, allowing an introspective and surreal vision of landscapes, neighborhoods, and portraiture, evidenced in the evocative “Oasis.” References to 15th century European painting, the Italian, Dutch and German Masters, and architectural and tapestry masterpieces abound, integrated here in the artist’s work with a nod to Pop Art’s bold lines and flat color expanses. Undulating organic curves contrast with geometric patterning throughout these works, with a palpable sense of longing and displacement in expansive and mysterious works such as “Outside” and “Azuree.” The artist harnesses the imagery of marble and stone texture throughout the elements of her composition-building, redolent with the architectural and geological histories that shape how we relate to the past from both a collective and personal lens.

Peter Drake, Provost of New York Academy of Art, where Liu graduated with MFA in 2022, reflects on Liu’s Intense, dreamlike paintings, “This is a new kind of self-hero who grew through adversity, became whole and is now invincible. This is the artist’s journey; this is the path she followed to arrive at this body of work. She is made whole through love and self-acceptance.”

An opening reception for Amy Liu: Oasis will take place on Thursday, November 10 from 6-8 pm at VillageOne Art. As Liu so poignantly reflects, “Painting these emotions through the lens of surrealism and magical realism allowed me to confront and reconcile with my trauma in safety.” Through this process of gentle and careful healing, the artist extends new avenues of exploration for audiences encountering her work at this powerful solo show with VillageOne Art.