Hung Liu: The Sun Also Rises

HUNG LIU THE SUN ALSO RISES

HUNG LIU THE SUN ALSO RISES September 17 - November 28, 2020

RENA BRANSTEN GALLERY

Hung Liu’s career long commitment to reframing and communicating epic human stories continues, in this case focused on American ones: The Great Depression; the Dust Bowl; the Japanese Internment. Through the lens and photographs of Dorothea Lange, Hung Liu traces the toll and transmission of these economic, political, and environmental upheavals.

California, 2020, Oil on canvas, 72 x 72 inches

Homeless Cat with Boy, 2020, Oil and UV acrylic on aluminum, wood, and canvas 78 x 70 x 2 inches

Homeless Cat with Girl, 2020, Oil and UV acrylic on aluminum, wood and canvas 72 x 60 x 2 inches

Kern County, California, 2019, Oil on canvas, 82 x 120 inches

Hand to Mouth 2, 2020, Oil and UV acrylic on aluminum, wood and canvas 80 x 80 x 2 inches

Hand to Brow, 2020, Oil and UV acrylic on aluminum, wood, and canvas 82 x 82 x 2 inches

Pledge of Allegiance 1942, 2019, Oil on canvas 72 x 72 inches

Thunder, 2020, Oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches

Duster Shack 2, 2019, Oil on canvas, 9 x 9 inches

Duster Shack 1, 2019, Oil on canvas, 9 x 9 inches

Duster Shack 3, 2019, Oil on canvas, 9 x 9 inches

Duster Shack 4, 2019, Oil on canvas, 9 x 9 inches

Lick the Sun, 2020, Oil on linen, 60 x 60 inches

Included in this exhibition is a new method of composing works, called “ensemble paintings.”

People and objects are isolated from Dorothea Lange’s photographs and digitally printed on shaped wood and aluminum cutouts. These elements are then painted, new components of oil on canvas circles added, and the “ensemble” reordered into new compositions, yielding fresh narratives in the lives, belongings, and shelters of these displaced people. Each new ensemble includes a photographic print on aluminum of a Dorothea Lange cloudscape, adding to the notion of freedom and floating in a tentative space - like clouds themselves, or an expression on a face, an instant – an analog of the photographic moment.

Sharecropper with Hat, 2020, Oil and UV acrylic on aluminum, wood and canvas 78 x 85 x 2 inches

Through the Window, 2020, Oil on canvas, 72 x 72 inches

Duster Shack 6, 2019, Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches

Duster Shack 7, 2019, Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches

Duster Shack 11, 2019, Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches

Duster Shack 8, 2019, Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches

Clockwise from top left: Duster Shack 12, 2019, Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches Duster Shack 10, 2019, Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches Duster Shack 5, 2019, Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches Duster Shack 9, 2019, Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches

Red Mailbox, 2020, Oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches

Homeless Puppies with Boy, 2020, Oil and UV acrylic on aluminum, wood, and canvas, 70 x 65 x 2 inches

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Hung Liu: The Sun Also Rises Rena Bransten Gallery September 17 - November 28, 2020 Photo credit for installation images: John Janca Catalog design by China Langford All artwork Š Hung Liu

RENA BRANSTEN GALLERY All inquires, email trish@renabranstengallery.com