Yi Liu Chinese, b. 1996

View works. Yi Liu, Searching the Mountains, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 150 x 130 cm
Yi Liu, Searching the Mountains, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 150 x 130 cm
View works
Yi Liu draws profound influence from traditional Chinese myths and legends. Her work seeks to interrogate and elucidate the principles of liberty, multiplicity, and inclusivity, alongside the intricate complexities of the individual psyche. Characterized by inherent ambiguity and fluidity, Liu’s art contests and blurs the lines between species and dismantles conventional gender paradigms, expanding and redefining established boundaries. Yi Liu’s oeuvre synthesizes lyrical colour with the classical delineations typical of fresco techniques and a simultaneous variety of brushwork. This fusion is achieved through the use of diverse media, resulting in a visually nebulous aesthetic. This aesthetic metaphorically explores themes of love and freedom, reflecting deeply on the interplay between power structures and social norms.
 

Yi Liu (b. 1996, China. Lives and works in London, UK) had her debut solo exhibition at Cob Gallery, London, UK.  She has featured in group exhibitions at Cob Gallery, London, UK; Lychee One Gallery, London, UK; Guts Gallery, London, UK; Greatorex Street, London, UK; Chilli Art Projects, London, UK;  Speiro Projects at Noho Venues, London, UK and the Yue Art Museum, Beijing, China.

 

EDUCATION

2025 MFA Painting, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

2024 MA Painting, Royal College of Art, London

2021 BFA Painting, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

2017 Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

 

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 

2024 Searching the Mountains, Cob Gallery, London

 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025 In Tandem, Cob Gallery, London, UK (forthcoming)

2025 The Body Speaks, Guts Gallery, London, UK

2024 Neon Jungle Nocturne, Lychee One, London, UK

2024 Caper, Greatorex Street, London

2024 Myths & Dreams, Chilli Art Projects, London

2024 The Future of Belonging, Speiro Projects at Noho Venues, London

2024 I Lost Something in the Hills, Liliya Art Gallery, London

2024 Mise-en-scène, Safehouse, London

2023 Lawless Imagination, RuptureXIBIT(+Studio), London

2021 Summer Graduate Song, S & C Art Museum, Beijing

2021 Meeting After the First Encounter, Yue Art Museum, Beijing

2021 Central Academy of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing

2021 Life & Growth, Marley Art Museum, Shanghai

 

SELECTED AWARDS

2022 Half scholarship for MFA, Central Academy of Fine Arts 

2021 Full scholarship for MFA, Central Academy of Fine Arts

2020 First-class Scholarship, Central Academy of Fine Arts 

 

SELECTED RESIDENCES

2018 Youth Art Society, Changzhou