The University of Wyoming Art Museum invites visitors to experience “Artist & Museum:
Hung Liu,” an installation celebrating the work of acclaimed Chinese-born American
painter Hung Liu (1948-2021).
The installation opens Saturday, May 16.
Known for her richly layered paintings that move between history and memory, Liu transformed
historical photographs into emotionally resonant works that honor overlooked individuals
and untold stories.
Trained in China as a Social Realist painter before immigrating to the United States
in 1984, Liu developed a distinctive visual language that blurs the line between document
and memory. Her paintings often draw from historical photographs, preserving the humanity
of her subjects while allowing the images to shift into something more personal, cultural
and collective.
The UW Art Museum shared a connection with Liu over many years, hosting two major
exhibitions of her work: “The Vanishing: Re-presenting the Chinese in the American
West” (2006) and “Hung Liu: American Exodus” (2017). Through lectures, workshops and
conversations during multiple visits to Laramie, Liu engaged closely with students,
faculty and the broader community, making the museum an ongoing site of artistic exchange
and collaboration.
Presented as part of the museum’s collection framework, “Artist & Museum: Hung Liu”
reflects how works of art enter and shape a collection through sustained relationships
built over time through exhibitions, research and collaboration.
The exhibition is funded through the generosity of the Patricia R. Guthrie Special
Exhibitions Gallery Endowment.
The UW Art Museum exhibits, preserves and interprets visual culture from around the world to engage academic, local, state, national and global communities. The museum is located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 E. Willett Drive in Laramie. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.
