Gallery 839
NOSTALGIA IN XIEYI TRADITIONAL CHINESE WATERCOLOR - Artworks by Rachel Liu
Through January 2024
写意 Xieyi (the characters) translate to “write meaning” or “sketch thought” individually, or “freehand” together. It is an abstract form of traditional Chinese watercolor painting, focused on conveying a subject or landscape’s essence and the artist’s perspective – “meaning” – instead of realism. Xieyi (the painting style) was originally popularized in the late 900s; “Nostalgia” (the gallery show) explores memories from a much more recent past (early 2000s ish).
From puppies to Pokemon to the prehistoric, explore thoughts and loves from the artist’s childhood to young adulthood, rendered in a style that is at the same time old and new.
Bio:
Rachel is a Chinese-Canadian-American filmmaker. Her previous work includes music videos for platinum recording artists, short films that have screened at top tier and Oscar Qualifying festivals, the animated pilot “Action Dinosaur” with EP Adam F Goldberg, a number of award winning feature films, and a number feature films that did not win awards. She is a Sundance Collab Advisor and two time Tribeca Film Institute alum.
Most relevantly, Rachel created, wrote, and directed “Fruit Stand at the End of the World” for Cartoon Network’s Cartoon Cartoons program, which explores new ways to animate in Xieyi watercolor. She has been painting for the majority of her life and originally studied under 馬淸雄 (Ma Qingxiong).