A Question of Hu: The Narrative Art of Hung Liu
Hung Liu
Aug 22–Dec 2
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU is pleased to present A Question of Hu: The Narrative Art of Hung Liu From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, featuring prints, tapestries, and paintings by the groundbreaking Chinese American artist Hung Liu (1948–2021). The exhibition is on view from
Hung Liu made highly narrative images that foregrounded workers, immigrants, refugees, women, children, and soldiers in haunting, incandescent portraits that mingle Chinese and Western artistic traditions. Liu was born in Changchun, China, and her childhood and youth coincided with one of the most tumultuous periods in Chinese history. After her arrival in San Diego, California, in 1984, Liu became one of the first Chinese artists to establish a career in the United States. Decades later, she would be justly celebrated for establishing novel frameworks for understanding visual art’s relationship to history by focusing on communities misrepresented and marginalized by official narratives.
Titled A Question of Hu, after China scholar Jonathan Spence’s 1988 book The Question of Hu, the exhibition reintroduces Liu’s remarkable art to the Pacific Northwest, while demonstrating—as few artistic oeuvres can—an expanded view of citizenship in an era of seismic change that is also fundamentally marked by evolving ideas of artistic solidarity and collaboration.
“I feel tremendously lucky to be able to organize an exhibition of Hung Liu’s work at this time,” says Viveros-Fauné. “Her images ennoble their subjects, while reflecting on past and present tales of uprotedness and displacement in ways that make them both familiar and epic.”
“We are so excited to share Hung Liu’s work with our PSU and Portland community. The JSMA at PSU aims to share new perspectives through art, and Hung Liu’s portraits introduce our visitors to new stories, histories, and ideas,” said Maryanna Ramirez, Director of JSMA at PSU.
The exhibition is drawn entirely from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, who has been collecting Hung Liu’s work for over 20 years. During the fifteen-week run of the exhibition, JSMA at PSU will host a variety of free programs including: public exhibition tours, lectures, writing workshops, and a monthly Story Time + Art Activity for families led by Portland-based artist Latoya Lovely. Information on all exhibition events is available on the JSMA at PSU website: pdx.edu/museum-of-art/