Morgan Lehman Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • Art Fairs
  • News
  • Contact
Menu
Crystal Liu | too soon for so long
Solo exhibition, 13 October - 12 November 2022
  • Current
  • Upcoming
  • Past

Crystal Liu | too soon for so long: Solo exhibition

Past exhibition
  • Installation Views
  • Works
  • Press release
  • Related Artists
Installation Views
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Cliu Install 1
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Cliu Install 3
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Cliu Install 4
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Cliu Install 6
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Cliu Install 7
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Cliu Install 9
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Cliu Install 2
Works
  • Crystal Liu, our place, “too soon for so long”, 2021
    Crystal Liu, our place, “too soon for so long”, 2021
  • Crystal Liu, our place, “up in the clouds”, 2021
    Crystal Liu, our place, “up in the clouds”, 2021
  • Crystal Liu, our place, “moon shower”, 2021
    Crystal Liu, our place, “moon shower”, 2021
  • Crystal Liu, our place, “this must be the place”, 2021
    Crystal Liu, our place, “this must be the place”, 2021
  • Crystal Liu, our place, “in the garden”, 2021
    Crystal Liu, our place, “in the garden”, 2021
  • Crystal Liu, our place, “forget me not”, 2021
    Crystal Liu, our place, “forget me not”, 2021
  • Crystal Liu, catch the light, IX, 2022
    Crystal Liu, catch the light, IX, 2022
  • Crystal Liu, catch the light, XIV, 2022
    Crystal Liu, catch the light, XIV, 2022
  • Crystal Liu, catch the light, XI, 2022
    Crystal Liu, catch the light, XI, 2022
  • Crystal Liu, catch the light, X, 2022
    Crystal Liu, catch the light, X, 2022
  • Crystal Liu, catch the light, XIII, 2022
    Crystal Liu, catch the light, XIII, 2022
  • Crystal Liu, catch the light, XII, 2022
    Crystal Liu, catch the light, XII, 2022
Press release

Morgan Lehman is pleased to present “too soon for so long,” an exhibition of paintings on paper and silk by Crystal Liu. This marks the artist’s second solo exhibition with the gallery.

 

Crystal Liu’s primary muse is nature. She revels in its beauty, mystery, and capricious power. The artist draws directly from the history of traditional Chinese landscape painting while leaving space for her own fantastic imaginings to take over. Elements such as the earth and sky, the moon and stars, flora, fauna, and water all intermingle on a single flat perspectival plane to create serene yet uncanny vistas. Liu is interested in using landscape as a metaphor for the intangible forces that drive human beings from within: she often looks to her own daily life experiences, her relationships, and her curiosity to learn more about the complexities of human behavior and emotions as raw material for each piece.

 

“our place” is the series of paintings on paper, created after the sudden loss of Liu’s father during the beginning of the pandemic. After he passed away, she sought comfort from her long walks in nature. Flowers in particular, helped her heal and be more hopeful so she created a dream garden for the two of them to meet. This garden, full of white chrysanthemums, poppies, forget-me-nots, bluebells, and echinacea is a dreamscape where two moons can co-exist, endless stars twinkle in the garden and flowers can thrive and bloom up in the clouds. These various flower species, rendered in exquisite detail and the artist’s boldest use of color to date, point to larger ideas including loss, everlasting love, promises to remember, and strength in the face of adversity.

 

Liu’s silk works titled, “catch the light” are a quietly minimal contemplation of two spaces: the world of dreams and the mysterious realm of the afterlife. White chrysanthemums, painted with gouache, ink, and Chinese watercolors are the main characters. Each piece features dazzling abalone veneer and gold leaf. This natural shell introduces a truly otherworldly element to the visual mix, reflecting and refracting light when viewed from different angles.

 

In all the works included in this exhibition, Liu unites the tradition of Chinese landscape painting with a highly conceptual framework to charge the artworks with a distinct personal narrative. This framework invites the viewer to look for their own symbolic interpretation, as well as derive comfort, healing, and insight, from Liu’s dreamlike and astonishing world.                
 

Crystal Liu was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1980 to Chinese immigrants. Liu majored in photography at Ontario College of Art & Design and received an MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in 2005. Her work is included in collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (California); the US Embassy Beijing Art Collection (China); the City of San Francisco (California); the Progressive Art Collection (Ohio); and The Fidelity Art Collection (Boston), among others. Liu lives and works in California.


 

Download Press Release

Related artist

  • Crystal Liu

    Crystal Liu

Back to Past exhibitions

GALLERY

526 West 26th Street, Suite 410
New York, NY 10001
Tues - Sat, 11-6

 

CONTACT

art@morganlehmangallery.com
212-268-6699 t.

Join the mailing list
Send an email
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Morgan Lehman Gallery
Site by Artlogic

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Signup

* denotes required fields

We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.