chia Hsiu Liu
Painting MFA
MICA Maryland Institute College of Art
Graduates: 2025
Specialisms: Painting
My location: Baltimore, United States
chia Hsiu Liu
First Name: chia Hsiu
Last Name: Liu
University / College: MICA Maryland Institute College of Art
Course / Program: Painting MFA
Graduates: 2025
Specialisms: Painting
My Location: Baltimore, United States
Website: Click To See Website
About
Chia Hsiu Liu makes abstract paintings inspired by the architecture and fast pace of the cities she has lived in, especially Taoyuan (Taiwan) and Baltimore. A series of drips become a grid or a building. Things move in and out of nameability. A multitude of small worlds coexist, competing for attention. Transportation is everywhere and moves fast from one zone to the next. Gentle pastels compete with brighter colors activating the surface and yielding a pervasive quality of light and atmosphere that is urgent but optimistic. Systems of order are proposed and contradicted, subject to the flux of experience.
During my MFA studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD, I created a series of paintings exploring the connections between my hometown, Taoyuan, Taiwan, and the city of Baltimore. The series began with my intention to find shared qualities and parallels between these two places. Day after day, I woke up and walked through the department hallway, peeking out the window and wondering what made the landscape I saw valuable. It is just a normal street corner between two roads with red bricks and several cars. What do you call normal? What leaves you feeling exposed, and what stirs your heart? I feel a rush of excitement as I enter the city. I feel a sense of thrill when I take in the landscapes around me. There must be a system where you put things in order. Start by drawing grids with a ruler, bind the messiness with shapes and colors until the chaos turns into structure, and hang it on the wall.
Competitions
