XIZI LIU Indoor Landscapes
bruno david gallery
XIZI LIU
Indoor Landscapes March 2-25, 2017 Bruno David Gallery 7513 Forsyth Boulevard Saint Louis, 63105 Missouri, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Director: Bruno L. David This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition Xizi Liu: Indoor Landscapes Editor: Bruno L. David Catalog Designer: Yihuang Lu Design Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Bruno David Gallery and Xizi Liu Cover image: Las Vegas-Gunshow, 2016 Acrylic on canvas 62 x 78 inches (157.5 x 198.1 cm) First Edition Copyright Š 2017 Bruno David Gallery, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery, Inc.
CONTENTS
MY WORKS by Xizi Liu AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION
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MY WORKS... By Xizi Liu 2
My works use stylized painting methods to represent the architectures of consumption, a reality flattened both literal and metaphorically. Through mechanical vision, the paintings explore, critique, and contemplate attitudes concerning consumerism and mass production; including the mechanization of the architectures of consumption, and how they reinforce habits. My works also portray the power of information transmission from unrevealed language and the painterly gesture that replaced the alphabet in non-places—a place, not a social or physical space, which lacks the traditional attributes of space. When thinking about architectures of consumption, I considered the design of the buildings and the integration of sites, which include shopping malls, factories and shipping centers, I also included other structures that enable the culture of consumption, as well as the effect of consumption in a broader sense of place, and cultural attitudes shaped by consumption. My paintings focus on sites of consumption and production in the contemporary environment and explore of capitalist consumerism. No region in the world has undergone such rapid and profound economic and cultural transformation as China has in the past decades. As part of the generation born in the late 20th century, I witnessed the country’s feverish progression of technological innovations and rapid economic growth. The subjects I choose are heavily rooted in my experience growing up amidst frenzied transformations in China, with its subsequent unbearable urban density. The traditional Chinese culture is not entirely replaced but certainly infected by the western culture of capitalism and consumerism. Urbanism and consumerism are not only issues in China but also across the globe. Shopping has become a leisure pursuit, an experience: the transformation of basic needs into a society of consumerism. Once basic needs have been satisfied, a feeling of emptiness remains. Thus my paintings shed light on consumption and the homogenization of culture. Architectures of consumption are places designed to hypnotize consumer places, where consumers are entertained and hypnotized by commodities and inner architectural arrangement. Selling is mingled with amusement and the arousal of free-floating desires. Examples of such architectures are exhibition halls, trade fairs, amusement parks, casinos and shopping malls. You will never find a window in a casino, because casino designers do not want people exposed to the outside world but rather to be consumed by the paradoxically fleeting, gratification of consumption. The longer you stay, the more money you spend. Cashiers also change real money into chips (although people know it is their money) but this little switch reduces the importance of currency. That is why casino is an exemplary architecture of consumption. In Las Vegas, every major casino hotel has its own theme; the building and inner design exactly fit the theme. In order to reinforce a sense of fantasy, Vegas have hotels with Paris, Pyramid, New York City, Circus and even King Arthur themes. They are adult amusement parks. People are fascinated by money games but they also forget about money.
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The inner arrangement of a shopping plaza, for example IKEA is confusing. You might just want to get a light bulb, but you would never be able to get it directly. In Ikea, if you do not pay attention or ask for help, you would never find the easy way to get the bulb you want, rather people have to navigate a vast array of consumer goods. You have to go through every department. Ikea forces you to check out every pleasing new product, and then you will come to realize you are beside the light bulb, but you already picked up something you had not planned to buy. This logic is similar to how shopping malls are designed. The displays are designed to mesmerize the audience. In addition to paint shopping spaces, I also express the density of mass production and cultural homogenization. However, other than those consumer places that we consider as architectures of consumption, I also consider factories because they also facilitate consumption. Each factory building is the same, like a magic box. The architecture is separated into different functional zones. Most of the workers on the factories assembly line don’t even know what kind of products they produce. Human laborers are immersed in the inner architecture. What they do know is the monotonous work which they repeat every day. Thus the depictions of these people in my paintings are faceless and emotionless. Not only is every single element flattened out, the dimension of the space and differentiation between humans and objects are also flattened. This suggests a conflation between the human and the commodity. Although we can spot consumer locations in my paintings, the absence of language makes it difficult to locate a precise setting. The truth is, the site could be in Los Angeles, Beijing, Bangkok, wherever. The fact is, proximately 20 years ago or older phenomenon, when one drove across America, they would experience the local culture. But now we have a homogenized landscape of chain stores. Now, there is a Wal-Mart and there is a Starbucks and there is a McDonald everywhere. As a result, local value is diminished. I think the homogenization of landscape also stresses a flattening of reality. My work does stress that by flattening pictorial space into a surface. My desire is to highlight the concern of that becoming a global mentality. Because the environments that we live in no longer have obvious specificity, as individuals we lack uniqueness. To a large degree, we are flattening out the landscape through homogenization and this is a result of consumer culture, and notion of weakness rely on the production of consumption. Thus, the paintings are also bearing my critical position and commentary on the capitalism manipulation. My work is based on capitalist society, depicting a culture in which choices depend on desires rather than needs and where mass production is unstoppable. These flattened pictorial spaces are based on the desirable products. The products are emotionless. I explore the vanity and fantasy of Pop Culture amidst urban chaos. The rigid, faceless, even headless people in my paintings stand for the de-individualization and overwhelming nature of consumer culture and the cold relationships and lack of freedom of people in contemporary society. I transform space and objects that disturb the ‘normal’ order and rhythm of urban life, in order to find new physical and conceptual spaces.
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This text is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibition written by fellow gallery artists and friends.
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AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David
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I am pleased to present an exhibition titled “Indoor Landscapes” by Xizi Liu at the Bruno David Gallery. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Xizi Liu’s work uses stylized painting methods to create a quasi-fictional consumer society in the contemporary economic environment, and explores different attitudes toward consumption and mass production, which the consumerism brings to us through the mechanical vision. In addition, her work portrays the power of information transmission from hidden language and painterly gesture, which replaced the alphabet in non-places. No region in the world has undergone such rapid and profound economic and cultural changes as China in the last decades. As a part of the generation born in the late 20th century, Xizi Liu has witnessed the country’s feverish progress, technological innovations, and rapid economic growth. The subjects she chooses are heavily rooted in her experience growing up amidst frenzied transformations in China, followed by its subsequent unbearable urban density. The flattened surfaces - while depicting a complex, highly torqued deep space - use the accumulation of individual colors to contribute to that space, creating the sense of dizziness and turbulence. She paints places where we easily find language, but the language is missing in the paintings. All those paintings are filled by the empty carriers of language. Her gesture is the language, and this language of the brush replaces words. No content or brand names are revealed; characters are anonymous; objects lack specificity, and it is impossible to distinguish one from another. They are meaningless objects immersed in an indistinct world. She uses a highly stylized painting method to create a surreal city that’s filled with fantasy. These flattened pictorial spaces are based on the desirable products. They are emotionless and explore the vanity and fantasy of the Pop Culture amidst urban chaos. They also bear her critical position and commentary on the manipulation of capitalism. The paintings based on capitalist society depict a culture in which choices depend on desires rather than needs, and where production is meaningless. The rigid, faceless, even headless people in her paintings artfully show the de-individualization and overwhelming nature of consumer culture, the cold relationships, and lack of freedom of people in the modern society. She transforms space and objects that disturb the ‘normal’ order and rhythm of urban life, in order to find new physical and conceptual spaces. Xizi Liu was born in China. She lives and works in Los Angeles, California. She received her M.F.A. from the Sam Fox School of Visual Arts - Washington University in St. Louis. Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding in 2005. I am deeply grateful to Yihuang Lu, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. Invaluable gallery staff support for the exhibition was provided by Cleo Azariadis, Ashley Lee, Charis Schneider, Yihuang Lu, and Paula Stevenson.
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CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION
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Las Vegas-Caesar, 2016 Acrylic on canvas 22 x 28 inches (55.9 x 71.2 cm)
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The Salt Lake City-Grocery Store, 2016 Oil on canvas 62 x 78 inches (157.5 x 198.1 cm)
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Flea Market No.1, 2016 Oil on wood panel 24 x 24 inches (61 x 61 cm)
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Flea Market No.2, 2016 Oil on wood panel 24 x 24 inches (61 x 61 cm)
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Chicago-Bookstore, 2016 Oil on canvas 62 x 78 inches (157.5 x 198.1 cm)
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Seattle-Bookstore, 2016 Oil on canvas 30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
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Las Vegas-Gunshow, 2016 Acrylic on canvas 62 x 78 inches (157.5 x 198.1 cm)
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New York-Bookstore, 2016 Oil on canvas 30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
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Boing Factory, 2016 Acrylic on canvas 62 x 62 inches (157.5 x 157.5 cm)
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Computer Factory, 2016 Acrylic on canvas 62 x 78 inches (157.5 x 198.1 cm)
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Guanajuato-Flea Market, 2016 Oil on canvas 62 x 78 inches (157.5 x 198.1 cm)
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XIZI LIU: Indoor Landscapes at Bruno David Gallery, 2017 (installation view - detail)
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Chicago-Bookstore (detail)
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Las Vegas-Gun show (detail)
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XIZI LIU: Indoor Landscapes at Bruno David Gallery, 2017 (installation view - detail) 24
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XIZI LIU: Indoor Landscapes at Bruno David Gallery, 2017 (installation view - detail) 26
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XIZI LIU: Indoor Landscapes at Bruno David Gallery, 2017 (installation view - detail) 28
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ARTISTS Laura Beard Heather Bennett Lisa K. Blatt Michael Byron Bunny Burson Judy Child Carmon Colangelo Alex Couwenberg Jill Downen Yvette Drury Dubinsky Damon Freed Douglass Freed Ellen Jantzen
Michael Jantzen Kelley Johnson Howard Jones (Estate) Chris Kahler Xizi Liu Kahlil Irving Bill Kohn (Estate) Leslie Laskey Yvonne Osei Patricia Olynyk Gary Passanise Judy Pfaff
Charles P. Reay Daniel Raedeke Tom Reed Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Shane Simmons Buzz Spector Cindy Tower Ann Wimsatt Monika Wulfers