Artist profile
Kathy
Liu
Kathy Liu is a Sydney based artist whose practice has strong emphasis on colour and composition.
Liu's practice explores the boarders between abstraction and representation. Driven by the sense of colour, she prioritises the act of painting while allowing a hint of narrative to occur during the process. The chance interplay of composition and mark making opens the limits of imaginative perception. Her paintings often contain “potential images” that require the viewers’ imagination to be fully activated. Her works are poetic and often in an ambiguous state between the desire for disclosure and the temptation of the void.
Liu completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the National Art School in 2022 and was awarded COSO Architecture Landscape Prize. She has been a finalist in many art prizes including twice the Waverley Art Prize (2021, 2022), Calleen Art Prize (2018), and Mosman Art Prize (2016). She had her solo exhibitions at Sheffer Gallery, Sydney in 2021 and 2023, and her artworks are held in various private collections.
Career Highlights
- Being awarded COSO Architecture Landscape Prize at National Art School 2022 Graduation Exhibition
- NAS graduation show
- First Solo show “Scent of A Breez” at Sheffer Gallery, 2021
What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?
I am predominantly a painter. I mostly use oil paint on linen or canvas because of the richness of colour and the flexibility of applying paint on a surface or taking it off. It allows me time to think…
How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?
Since chances play a main role in my process, I normally don’t let a predetermined concept decide which way I am heading. Colour is my drive and I find narrative during the process, which normally relates to my subconscious, my distant memories, and so on. Sometimes it is a battle and negotiation between abstraction and form. When I am satisfied with the result, the work is completed. Interestingly, then I can see the connection between some or a group of works, due to probably a similar source of subconscious they draw from.
Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?
I work in my garage converted studio. I feel relaxed and can work anytime I want. Lightings are important as they reveal the true colour of a painting. And I have a studio dog who likes to sleep beside the couch while I paint.
