Overview

Crystal Liu transforms elements of nature – the night, stars, clouds, fleshy mountains, willow trees, blood, water, owls, octopuses, and flowers – into a lexicon of characters that enact extraordinary tales based on her private joys and sorrows.

 

Liu’s drawings can be likened to Chinese landscape painting, in which every stroke and image is layered with meaning. But she subverts the serenity of these traditional scenes with violent forces. Her choice of materials, including fabric, gold leaf, felt, and textured paper, provides a subtle balance between seduction, humor and the macabre.

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Works
  • Mixed media triptych of golden pointillism clouds and floating golden contours of chrysanthemums against washes of deep royal blue
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    Crystal Liu
    the lake, 'looking back', 2016
    gouache and watercolor on paper
    44 x 30 inches/111.8 x 76.2 cm
  • Mixed media triptych landscape of a black and white marbled mountain range A gigantic gold metallic moon peeks out from behind the mountains while multiple thin streams of gold and silver pointillism clouds line the tops of the mountains and hover above
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    Crystal Liu
    the moon and the tides, 'please be gentle', 2016
    collage, gouache, ink and watercolor on paper
    triptych. each panel: 44 x 30 inches/111.8 x 76.2 cm
  • Mixed media landscape with gold and silver pointillism streams pouring down from the top and crashing against the black and white marbled mountain tops at the bottom of the piece. Multiple light pink watercolor washed peonies hang down from the top while a gold metallic moon floats off center and towards the right of the piece
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    Crystal Liu
    the fog, "through thick and thin", 2020
    gouache, watercolor, collage and ink on paper
    50 x 40 inches/127 x 101.6 cm
  • Mixed media mountainous nighttime landscape. Vibrant multicolored pointillism clusters form drooping leaves and hang from dark gray branches in front of triangular mountain tops to the right of the piece. A pattern of light blue waves against a light green allude to a lake or ocean at the bottom
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    Crystal Liu
    "this must be the place 'I'll take you there' ", 2012
    gouache, watercolor, ink and gold leaf on paper
    22 x 22 inches/55.9 x 55.9 cm
  • Zoomed in digital photograph of a frozen, purple delphinium with multiple tiny air bubbles
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    Crystal Liu
    give us our dream: part two, 'delphinium', 2010
    digital C-print
    29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cm
  • Mixed media marbled mountainous blue toned landscape with a valley filled with silver metallic pointillism clouds. Towards the bottom right of the piece a red moon floats and illuminates the clouds around it with a faint pink
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    Crystal Liu
    I always meant to love you, 'with one embrace'', 2017
    gouache, watercolour, ink and collage on paper
    38 x 38 inches/96.5 x 96.5 cm
  • Chromogenic print of a zoomed in digital photograph of a spoon full of red purple jam on top of a white bed The spoon full of jam is staining the white crocheted bed cover it was left on and leaving behind several fruit clumps
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    Crystal Liu
    "In the dead of Winter, 'In the dead of Winter'", 2005
    chromogenic print
    29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cm
  • Gouache painting of a bare tree with gold leaf bark against a black background. White contours of several twisted ropes with frayed ends are tangled throughout the branches of the tree and droop down and over the right side of the ground
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    Crystal Liu
    "The Fray 'unhinged' ", 2013"
    gouache and gold leaf on paper
    21 3/4 x 22 inches/55.2 x 55.9 cm
  • Mixed media mountainous nighttime landscape. Vibrant multicolored pointillism clouds group and wrap themselves around the tips of several gray triangular mountain tops while a gold leaf moon shimmers behind at the center right of the work
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    Crystal Liu
    "this must be the place 'fitting in' ", 2012
    gouache, watercolor and gold leaf on paper
    22 x 22 inches/55.9 x 55.9 cm
  • Mixed media landscape of a gold leaf moon surrounded by a row of birch trees. Both the moon and the trees are reflected in a light gray pool which takes up the bottom two thirds of the piece. Also visible in the reflective pool are several dark clouds and gold leaf dots which resemble stars
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    Crystal Liu
    caught in between (from the series 'the moon'), 2014
    ink, watercolor, gouache and gold leaf on paper
    5 7/8 x 5 7/8 inches/15 x 15 cm
  • Zoomed in digital photograph of several frozen, deep pink anemone flowers with multiple tiny air bubbles
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    Crystal Liu
    give us our dream: part one, 'anemone four', 2009
    digital c-print print
    29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cm
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  • Mixed media landscape with a long flowing willow tree at the top of a gray and white marbled mountain top. Silver metallic pointillism clouds float around the left edges of the piece and in a small valley towards the bottom right where a small gold metallic moon rests
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    Crystal Liu
    going places (weeping willows), "stuck in between", 2018
    watercolor, ink and collage on paper
    44 x 30 in
    111.8 x 76.2 cm
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  • Zoomed in digital photograph of a frozen, deep pink ranunculus with multiple tiny air bubbles
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    Crystal Liu
    give us our dream: part one, 'ranunculus two', 2009
    digital C-print
    29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cm
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  • Mixed media landscape with a long flowing willow tree at the top of a single large black and white marbled mountain top. Silver metallic pointillism floating clouds crash against the base of the mountain and near the gold metallic moon which floats in the sky above the lower right corner
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    Crystal Liu
    going places (weeping willows), "getting in touch", 2018
    watercolor, ink and collage on paper
    38 x 38 in
    96.5 x 96.5 cm
  • Zoomed in digital photograph of a large white and pale pink peony blossom with multiple tiny air bubbles and ice cracks
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    Crystal Liu
    give us our dream: part one, 'peony two', 2009
    digital c-print
    29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cm
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  • Mixed media piece of golden dots raining down from the top of the piece and onto several gold metallic floating pointillism clouds against washes of deep royal blue. Five golden contours of chrysanthemum buds float on top of one gold cloud while a much larger and fully bloomed chrysanthemum slouches at the the bottom center
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    Crystal Liu
    the lake, 'unequivocal', 2017
    gouache and watercolor on paper
    40 x 38 inches/101.6 x 96.5 cm
  • Crystal Liu, the flowers, 'breathe in', 2014
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    Crystal Liu
    the flowers, 'breathe in', 2014
    ink, gouache and watercolor on paper
    29 3/4 x 29 3/4 in
    75.6 x 75.6 cm
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  • Crystal Liu, in the dead of winter, 'when night falls', 2005
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    Crystal Liu
    in the dead of winter, 'when night falls', 2005
    chromogenic print
    29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cm
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  • Abstract mixed media piece in which several variously sized chrysanthemums and shiny droplets made out of multiple tiny gold dots cascade down from the top center of the piece to the bottom
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    Crystal Liu
    the flowers, 'downpour', 2014
    ink, gouache and watercolor on paper
    39 3/4 x 26 inches/101 x 66 cm
  • Mixed media landscape of multiple black and white marbled mountain tops. A gigantic gold metallic moon peeks out from behind the mountains while silver and gold pointillism clouds blotch out parts of the moon and mountain
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    Crystal Liu
    the moon and the tides, ''wash over me', 2017
    watercolor, gouache, and collage on paper
    48 x 48 inches/121.9 x 121.9 cm
  • Abstract mixed media landscape of a large moon floating above a hill of small black and white chrysanthemum heads. The moon is composed of multiple variously sized shiny gold dots and directly underneath it, sprouting from the hill, two huge black and white chrysanthemums lean out and form a curved V shape. Floating around the moon and covering parts of the huge flower blossoms are multiple shiny gold dots
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    Crystal Liu
    the flowers,'in dreams', 2014
    ink, gouache and watercolor on paper
    26 x 39 3/4 inches/66 x 101 cm
  • Mixed media landscape with silver metallic pointillism floating clouds that obscure the view of some large black and white marbled mountain tops Several bare birches and flowing willow trees are visible at the mountain tops while multiple blush peonies bloom at the bottom of the piece
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    Crystal Liu
    the fog, "hold up", 2019
    gouache, watercolor, ink and collage on paper
    40 x 40 inches/101.6 x 101.6 cm
  • Mixed media landscape with silver pointillism streams of fog caress several blush peonies, bare birch trees, and black and white marbled mountain tops. At the bottom a gold metallic moon peeks out from three of the marbled mountain tops
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    Crystal Liu
    the fog, "please be gentle", 2020
    gouache, watercolor, collage and ink on paper
    50 x 40 inches
    127 x 101.6 cm
  • Mixed media landscape with tall black and white marbled mountains which become obscured towards the top of the piece as silver metallic pointillism clouds cover its peaks. At the bottom of the piece a small gold metallic moon hovers above a row of bare birch trees
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    Crystal Liu
    the mountains, 'the wait', 2016
    gouache, watercolor and ink on paper
    30 x 30 in
    76.2 x 76.2 cm
  • Mixed media landscape of a small gold leaf moon reflected in a light gray body of water. To the upper left a small dark gray and blue watercolor island houses several thin birch trees, one of which bends down as if reaching to touch the moon
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    Crystal Liu
    The Moon, "the moon", 2014
    watercolor, gouache, ink and gold leaf on paper
    15 x 15 inches/38.1 x 38.1 cm
  • Digital c-print of a photograph which depicts a zoomed in view of an earth toned tea cup with matching saucer. The tea cup is decorated with an Asian watercolor ink landscape of a mountain and several trees. Around the rim of the tea cup there are several evenly spaced indents
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    Crystal Liu
    the storm, 2008
    digital c-print
    30 x 30 inches/76.2 x 76.2 cm
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  • Mixed media landscape with black and white marbled mountains At the bottom center of the piece a gold metallic moon is held in between two mountains Two slouching bare birch trees grow on top of the mountain against a light pink yellow blue and gray watercolor washed sky
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    Crystal Liu
    the mountains, 'the partition', 2016
    collage, gouache, ink and watercolor on paper
    30 x 30 inches/76.2 x 76.2 cm
  • Mixed media landscape of a stack of various sized black and white marbled rocks which obscure the view of the gold moon floating in the sky behind it The top rock is the same size as the moon and creates an eclipse affect Multiple gold and silver metallic pointillism clusters float at the bottom of the piece
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    Crystal Liu
    trying to get there, 'let's kiss, not fight', 2016
    collage, gouache, and watercolor on paper
    44 x 30 inches/111.8 x 76.2 cm
  • Chromogenic print of a digital photograph of a collection of multicolored pale plates, bowls, and glasses against an intricate blue green and pink floral patterned wallpaper
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    Crystal Liu
    in the dead of winter, 'landscape in my cupboard', 2005
    chromogenic print
    29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cm
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