Magnetic: Victor Liu & Laura Smith
22nd November, 2024 – 5th January, 2025
PS122 Gallery
150 1st Ave New York
NY 10009
PS122 Gallery is excited to present Magnetic, featuring the works of Victor Liu (sculpture) and Laura Smith (drawings). This exhibition delves into the invisible yet compelling forces of energy that influence interactions in both the personal and artistic realms. These forces, filled with allure, doubt, and anxiety, shape the world around us. Magnetic explores these mysterious dynamics of attraction and unease, revealing their impact on Liu’s and Smith’s respective art practices. The artists’ works, characterized by minimal nuances and a neutral palette, exist in a primal and unpredictable state. This primal energy radiates fluidly through the gallery, holding viewers in a magnetic gaze.
Combining traditional casting methods with modern technologies, Victor Liu’s elusive figures intertwine latent myths, anime, and historical influences with contemporary headlines. His hybrid works juxtapose elements such as the pose of an Egyptian god with multiple arms, a soldier with prosthetic legs and machine gun crutches, and a regal-looking black swan holding a divining branch and a talisman. These elegant, metaphorical forms harness Liu’s apprehensions and translate them into toy-like sculptures displayed on custom pedestals. Their elevated presentation invites viewers into a dynamic conversation about entanglements and the push-and-pull forces at play in the world.
Soft yet dense, Laura Smith’s Illuminated Black series consists of graphite drawings on sleek Dura-Lar, created through a unique multi-stage process. Her work begins with collages made from the negative spaces of her previous sculptures. By defining positive forms from these voids, Smith channels her intuitive process into lines of force. She likens this to the musical concept where silence between notes holds the key to harmony. Her mesmerizing objects, shaped by the system she discovered, reflect the graphite’s luminous qualities, creating unexpected and captivating results.
About the artists
Victor Liu Victor Liu is a Taiwanese-born American artist based in NYC. His work has been showcased in exhibitions across the US, Europe, and Asia, including the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY. He is a recipient of an NYFA fellowship and has received commissions from the Whitney Museum’s Artport and Turbulence.org. Liu holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, NYC, an MA from Yale University, and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley.
Laura Smith Laura Smith, born in Kansas, divides her time between Arizona and NYC. She is set to have a solo exhibition, Black Illuminated, at Everybody, Arizona, in 2025. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions and benefits at venues such as the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Fashion Moda, MAX FISH, Robert Miller Gallery, and Smack Melon in NYC, as well as the Rijks Akademie/Fodor Museum in Amsterdam. Smith earned her BFA in Painting from Parsons School of Design and was a semi-finalist for the Prix de Rome.
Magnetic: Victor Liu & Laura Smith opens on the 22nd of November, 2024 until the 5th of January, 2025 at PS122 Gallery
©2024 PS122 Gallery
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