ABOUT&CONTACT
Statement:
My art practice explores human emotions and existence. It examines the missing and lost parts of our life, which have left traces in our memory and drive us to return to then repeatedly, consciously or unconsciously.
By introducing the concept of light, I focus on the visible but immaterial attributes of light, which make it equivalent to the nature of the things lingering in our memories: we can feel their presence in the depths of our minds, but they can never be touched.
Light can always attract people’s gaze and lead their eyes to a specific area. But this area is also an illusionary space – This parallels that classical Greek tale of the painting competition between Zeuxis and Parrhasius. When Zeuxis attempted to open the curtain on Parrhasius’ painting, he discovered that the curtain was part of the painting itself. From this point, my practice explored the problem of image and representation – Does the truth always lie beneath the veil of the image, and can it only be glimpsed by finding a gap on the image? But isn’t this truth simply another illusion? Just as dreams reveal the truth of our desire, but dreams are also another form of illusion.
Exploring the sad beauty among the things cannot be touched, my research interests also include Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalysis theory, especially the concept of ‘lack’, which is like a void area in our being: our desire is produced from here, as a vain and illusionary complement for this void. I combined it with the concept of ‘emptiness’ in Eastern philosophy, to reinterpret the tangled relation between ‘truth’ and ‘illusion’.
Penghang Liu (刘鹏航）
Education:
MA Sculpture, Royal College of Art
BFA Experimental Art, Central Academy of Fine Arts
Group Exhibitions:
Thumb 2, Ladder Space, Copenhagen, 2023
MA Degree Show, Royal College of Art, London, 2023
Death of the Spectacle, 37 Kensington High St, London, 2023
Monophony, Royal College of Art & Royal College of Music, London, 2023
Everything is Temporary, 3 Locks Brewing Company, London, 2023
Experiencing a Significant Gravitas Shortfall, OrigiNature, Chengdu, 2021
BFA Degree Show, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, 2021
The Building as a Ghost without a Shell, Hua International, Beijing, 2021
To Replace the Shining Stars, Building 23 Artist Community, Beijing, 2020
Evolution, Enjoy·Art Museum, Beijing, 2020
@Art Festival, George V Art Center, Beijing, 2019
Awards:
18th Arte Laguna Prize (Finalist), Venice, 2024
Curation:
Ruthin International Arts Festival (Associated Curator), Wales, 2024
Contact:
Email: liupenghangart@gmail.com
Instagram: liu.penghang
WeChat: Liu-Penghang
