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At once a testament to Liu’s formal inventiveness and a celebration of the Foundation’s grant recipients, Bio-morph highlights an intergenerational and cross-cultural focus on humanity and the body. Across installation, sculpture, and material experimentation, the recipients’ works resonate with Liu’s interest in forms that feel alive and in flux. Some works suggest a bodily presence without fully describing it. Others draw on arrangements found in nature or the built environment, yet remain fluid and alive. Together, they mix with the sculptures of Liu Shiming to present an intergenerational array of material and structural innovation, and a cohesive focus on rethinking the human form while nevertheless centering humanity.
The Foundation’s Artist Grant program stems from the value Liu Shiming placed on supporting younger generations of artists during his sculpture career and his tenure as a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Since 2023, the Foundation has awarded twenty $5,000 Artist Grants, supporting the work of visual artists during the first decade of their careers. The grants have enabled the five young artists in Bio-morph, as well as the other grantees, to work on new projects that explore the interplay between traditional, cultural, or historical influences and their contemporary artistic practice.
On June 13 at 11am, the Foundation will hold “Surviving the Art World,” a sharing session led by Ashley Wu. The session will work to answer the question of what it actually takes to sustain a life in art. She will be joined by two of the Artist Grant recipients featured in Bio-Morph, Manami Ishimura and Sergei Zinchuk. They will share their practical experience related to navigating the art world — from writing exhibition proposals and artist statements to securing funding, finding residencies, and building a teaching career.
About The Liu Shiming Art Foundation
Established in 2021, the Liu Shiming Art Foundation supports contemporary art worldwide while elevating and preserving the art of renowned Chinese artist Liu Shiming (1926-2010). Based in New York, the Foundation curates contemporary art exhibitions and provides scholarships, grants, and exchange opportunities to cultivate and grow a global arts discourse that recognizes common humanity, as Liu Shiming did as a teacher, through his art and life. lsmartfund.org.
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For all media inquiries, please contact:
Max Kruger-Dull
Tel: +1-212-675-1800
Blue Medium, Inc.
max@bluemedium.com |
