Junyi Liu, In Dreams I Open My Eyes, oil, 24 x 36.
The portraiture, figurative work, and performance art of New York City-based Junyi Liu is full of irony and symbolism. The young artist thinks and feels deeply about the human condition, its concerning societal trends, and individual suffering, as evidenced by the topics she chooses to explore in her art.
Liu’s winning painting is one of her more traditional, straightforward portraits, but the piece is still rife with meaning. With its skillful technique, compelling composition, and strong sense of mood, IN DREAMS I OPEN MY EYES—a painting from the artist’s Lonely Together series—captures a young woman in an unsettling moment of solitude.
“I’ve been observing people’s ways of living in the city, and I have great empathy for their insecurities nowadays,” says the 26-year-old painter. “They keep seeking comforts from different sources, with the hope of achieving inner peace. However, they are still lonely. These paintings are my attempt to reveal their vulnerability. In this piece, the woman—who I know personally and asked to pose for me—sits at a table in a small café, looking at us as if she is still in a dream. It seems that she is lost but yet very aware of what has gone wrong.”
Born in Guangdong, China, Liu discovered her passion for painting at a young age. She traveled to the United States to study at the University of Illinois at Springfield, then went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting at Maryland Institute College of Art. Exposed to both classical and contemporary education, she developed a style in which age-old technique is used to explore pressing modern issues.
Find Liu’s work at 33 Contemporary Gallery, Chicago, IL, and www.junyiliuart.com. —Allison Malafronte
This story appeared in the December 2021/January 2022 issue of Southwest Art magazine.