Pixy Liao

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BIOGRAPHY | SELECTED WORKS | RECENT EXHIBITIONS | SELECTED PRESS | INTERVIEW
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BIOGRAPHY

Always shrouded in a layer of wit, the work of Pixy Yijun Liao constantly blurs the lines between her personal and public spheres. Using mainly photography – on top of her wide range of readymade sculpture and performative video work – Liao challenges the perceived identities of various modern entities, be it the “female experience”, the “couple”, or the “artist”. Taking incidents from her real life as a foundation for her artistic creation, Liao stages carefully composed works often featuring her own person or those close to her – such as her partner in long-term project Experimental Relationship (2007-present) – as to create her signature playful, humorous and sometimes even slightly dark images. Influenced by the 20th century’s New American Color Photography, her inquisitive creative nature lends itself a means to question the issues of interpersonal hierarchy and gender identity within the cross-cultural societies and communities within the artist’s life.

Born and raised in Shanghai, Pixy Yijun Liao is currently based in Brooklyn, after moving to the USA to complete her MFA in Photography at the University of Memphis. Liao is a recipient of the NYFA Fellowship in photography, and in 2013 she received the 1st Place Prize in the Lucie Awards’ Self Portrait category, and in the same year won the LensCulture Exposure 2nd Prize. Her works have been collected by the Franklin Furnace Archive, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Fort Wayne Museum of Arts, The Kinsey Institute, and The Center of Photography at Woodstock among others.

Pixy Liao’s photographs have been exhibited internationally with various institutions and museums. Selected group exhibitions include “Please fasten your seat belt as we are experiencing some turbulence”, Leo Xu Projects, Shanghai, China, 2017; “Bagism”, Chi K11 Art Museum, Shanghai (2016); “WECHAT – A Dialogue in Contemporary Chinese Art” curated by Barbara Pollack, Asia Society Texas Centre, Houston and Wesleyan University’s Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Middletown (2016); “The Real Thing”, Flowers Gallery, New York (2016); “EVIDENCE”, FORMAT Festival, Derby (2015); “Double Vision” curated by Boyi Feng, He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen (2014); “Span of Vision” from VT Gallery, Taipei (2012), etc,. Her recent solo exhibitions include “Lady and Gentleman”, Galleri Vasli Souza, Malmo (2017); “Venus As A Boy”, Leo Xu Projects, Shanghai (2016); “Some Words Are Just Between Us”, First Draft Gallery, Sydney (2016); “Experimental Relationship”, Circuitous Succession Gallery, Memphis (2015); “Let’s Make Love”, Camera Club of New York, New York (2013); “Memphis, Tennessee”, Chinese America Art Council, New York (2011); “Experimental Relationship”, Adam Shaw Gallery, Memphis (2008).

Pixy Liao now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Download the complete artist biography.

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SELECTED WORKS

PIXY LIAO, "Start your day with a good breakfast", 2009, C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Massage Time", 2015, C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Moro by the Pond", 2010, Inkjet Print

PIXY LIAO, "I can tell that your heart is fogged", 2012, C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Japanese Room I, 2015, C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Family Sushi", 2011, C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Hug", 2010, C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Hang in there", 2015, Inkjet Print

PIXY LIAO, "3rd Eye", 2013, C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder", 2015, C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Kiss Exam", 2015, Inkjet print

PIXY LIAO, "Ping Pong Balls", 2013, Digital C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Toddland", 2012, Digital C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Play station", 2013, C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Men as bags", 2016, Fabric, thread, cotton

PIXY LIAO, "Walking with My Man", 2016, Single channel video with sound, 3 min

PIXY LIAO, "A Collection of Penises", 2013

PIXY LIAO, "Things We Talk About", 2013, Digital C-Print

PIXY LIAO, "Spit", 2014, C-Print

For more works and projects by the artist, download the portfolio in pdf.

For details of PIXY LIAO’s “A Collection of Penises”, download the PDF profile.

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RECENT EXHIBITIONS

“NSFW: Female Gaze“, Museum of Sex, New York, USA, 2017
“Please fasten your seat belt as we are experiencing some turbulence”, Leo Xu Projects, Shanghai, 2017
“Lady and Gentleman”(solo), Galleri Vasli Souza, Malmo, Sweden, 2017
“Out Frames”, Museum of Modern Art, Bologna, Italy, 2016
“Venus as a Boy”(solo), LEO XU PROJECTS, Shanghai, China, 2016
“Some words are just between us” curated by Sophia Cai, First Draft Gallery, Sydney, 2016
“Experimental Relationship”, Circuitous Succession Gallery, Memphis, TN, 2015
“Bagsim” curated by Elisabeth Azoulay, Penny Liu, Shaway Yeh, chi K11 Art Museum in Shanghai, Shanghai, China, 2016
“WECHAT – A Dialogue in Contemporary Chinese Art” curated by Barbara Pollack, Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, TX, 2016
“The Real Thing”, Flowers Gallery, New York, NY, 2016
“No Holds Barred—Young Contemporary Art from China” curated by Boyi Feng and Lars Jonnson, OPEN ART Biennial, Örebro, Sweden, 2015
“EVIDENCE”, FORMAT Festival, Derby, UK, 2015
“Engendered”, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Gallery, Milwaukee, WI, 2015
“Double Vision”, curated by Boyi Feng, He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China, 2014
“Latent Talent”, curated by Jesús Micó, SCAN-Tarragona 2014, Tarragona, Spain, 2014
“An Ocean of Possibilities”, Noorderlicht Photo Festival, Fries Museum, the Netherlands, 2014
“Summer Open”, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY, 2014
“THREE” curated by Elisabeth Biondi, Hagedorn Foundation Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2014

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SELECTED PRESS

Asian Art News, “Pixy Liao at Leo Xu Projects”, by Arthur Solway, September, 2016 [download_pdf]
Peril Magazine, “Location, the Female Gaze and the Warmth of the Internet”, by Kathleen Linn, August, 2016 [download link]
FBi, “THE HANGING: SOME WORDS ARE JUST BETWEEN US BY PIXY LIAO”, by Lachlan Herd, August, 2016 [download link]
FIRSTDRAFT solo show interview, ”Some Words Are Just Between Us”, by Sophia Cai, August, 2016 [download link]
Asia Society, “Interview: Pixy Yijun Liao”, by Nikki Tripp, April, 2016 [download link]
Newfound, ”Experimental Relationship”, by Courtney Simchak, March, 2016 [download pdf]
Culture Stories, “Artist Pixy Liao discusses her ongoing series Experimental Relationship with her real life partner”, by Caitlin Robinson, March, 2016 [download pdf]
Juxtapoz Magazine, ”THE REAL THING” @ Flowers Gallery, February, 2016 [download pdf]
This is Paper, “The alternative possibilities of heterosexual relationships by Pixy Liao”, by Tasya Kudryk, February, 2016 [download pdf]
Beyond Chinatown, “The Real and the Unreal: Pixy Liao’s “Experimental Relationship””, by Hansi Liao, February, 2016 [download pdf]
Artforum, “Critics’ Pick: “The Real Thing”", by Lara Atallah, February, 2016 [download pdf]
Feature Shoot, “NEW PHOTO EXHIBITION PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES OF FEMININITY AND GENDER ROLES”, by Efrem Zelony-Mindell, February, 2016 [download pdf]
Huffington Post, “Female Photographers Discuss The Real Anxieties Of Being Women”, by Priscilla Frank, February, 2016 [download pdf]
PDN, “Constructing and Deconstructing Romance”, by Rebecca Robertson, February, 2016 [download pdf]
BAD LUCK, “Pixy Yijun Liao”, by Nathan McLaren-Stewart, January, 2016 [download pdf]
The Creators Project Vice, ”Female Photographers Tackle Gender Roles and Relationships”, by Gabrielle Bruney, January, 2016 [download pdf]
Musée Magazine, ”The Real Thing at Flowers Gallery”, by Ashley Comer, January, 2016 [download link]
Wallpaper, ”In pictures: the W* photography desk’s daily digest of visual inspiration”, by Elly Parsons, January, 2016 [download pdf]
i-D Vice, ”Four female photographers explore sex and gender in new group show”, by Emily Manning, January, 2016 [download pdf]
Cool Hunting, ”The Real Thing at NYC’s Flowers Gallery”, by Nara Shin, January, 2016 [download pdf]
It’s Nice That, ”Pixy Yijun Liao’s strange photography challenges what relationships and love should be”, by Emily Gosling, January, 2016 [download pdf]

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Published on September 1, 2016 3:00 pm.

past | TAUS MAKHACHEVA: SECOND WORLD, THIRD ATTEMPT

Taus Makhacheva:
Second World, Third Attempt

November 10th through December 23rd, 2017
Opening reception: Friday, November 10th, 6-8pm

Published on November 8, 2017 1:56 am.

past | SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIRS

SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIRS

September 30th through October 31st, 2017
Closed on National holidays, October 1st through 8th.

Participants: Bu Bing, Chen Wei, Cheng Ran, Michael Lin, Liu Chuang, Liu Shiyuan, Liu Yichun, Wang Yan, Zhang Ke and more.
 

Published on September 30, 2017 5:55 pm.

offsite | A NEW BALLARDIAN VISION

CINDY SHERMAN, "Untitled", 1987

A NEW BALLARDIAN VISION
Organized by Leo Xu
June 29th through August 4th, 2017
Metro Pictures, New York, USA 
 
As a part of CONDO Complex New York, a gallery swap between New York galleries and national and international partners, Metro Pictures hosts Leo Xu’s two-part exhibition A New Ballardian Vision. The show brings together a selection of works that reflect recent social, technological and environmental developments through the lens of author J.G. Ballard’s (1930–2009) writings. Xu conceived the exhibition as two distinct chapters; the first features Metro Pictures artists Nina Beier, Camille Henrot, Martin Kippenberger, Oliver Laric, Robert Longo, Trevor Paglen, Jim Shaw and Cindy Sherman. The second chapter focuses on a younger generation of Chinese artists represented by Leo Xu Projects, including aaajiao, Chen Wei, Cheng Ran, Cui Jie, Li Qing, Liu Shiyuan and Pixy Liao.
Details »

Published on June 23, 2017 5:44 pm.

past | AAAJIAO: USER, LOVE, HIGH-FREQUENCY TRADING

aaajiao, Candy wrappers (twitter), 2017

AAAJIAO: USER, LOVE, HIGH-FREQUENCY TRADING

May 27th through July 22nd, 2017
Opening reception: Friday, May 26th, 6-8pm

“User, Love, High-frequency Trading” marks the second solo exhibition with the gallery by Shanghai and Berlin-based young new media artist aaajiao. Aaajiao, the artistic persona of Xu Wenkai, was first created as his internet handle. As a user of many websites, social media and applications, aaajiao has been exploring the notions about such role and new identities and personalities a user may assume through his or her operation of one specific medium. This two-year long research has crystalized into the exhibition “User, Love, High-frequency Trading”. It goes through multiple aspects—for instance, user’s alter ego, social media communication, and new economies driven by algorithms and networking of users—and arrives at a particular moment in current social and technological development, which has both resonated and contrasted with many of Sci-fi cinema and literature’s Ballardian or cyberpunk fantasies of an early 21st century.

Details »

Published on June 11, 2017 7:54 pm.

fair | LISTE – ART FAIR BASEL 2017

Booth: 1-7-G3
June 12th through 18th, 2017

The gallery’s debut in LISTE – Art Fair Basel 2017 will feature a solo presentation by Copenhagen-based young Chinese female artist Liu Shiyuan.

Born in 1985 in Beijing, Liu Shiyuan lives and works in Copenhagen after having studied in New York and Beijing. Traveling and living between cities and across multiple cultures, Liu has developed an artistic sensibility to the new forms of language and expressions on cybersphere and its ensuing patterns of everyday communication across the globe. The works on view at the booth also underlines the nuances and influences of the new internet rhetoric between different regions and media.

Details »

Published on June 11, 2017 1:53 am.

past | PLEASE FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT AS WE ARE EXPERIENCING SOME TURBULENCE

Please fasten your seat belt as we are experiencing some turbulence

March 18th through April 30th, 2017
Opening reception: Friday, March 17th, 6-8pm

David Kordansky Gallery and Leo Xu Projects are pleased to present “Please fasten your seat belt as we are experiencing some turbulence”, a collaborative group exhibition held at Leo Xu Projects, Lane 49, Building 3, Fuxing Xi Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai. The show will be on view from March 18 until April 30, 2017. An opening reception will take place on Friday, March 17 from 6:00pm until 8:00pm.

Featuring artists from both of the galleries’ programs, Please fasten your seat belt as we are experiencing some turbulence will examine how a wide and heterogeneous array of aesthetic positions can reflect, refract, and bear witness to an uncertain state of global affairs. The exhibition will include work by Kathryn Andrews, Andrea Büttner, Chen Wei, Heman Chong, Sam Gilliam, Zach Harris, Evan Holloway, Rashid Johnson, Gabriel Lester, Li Qing, Liu Shiyuan, Pixy Liao, Jonas Lund, Tala Madani, Chris Martin, Torbjørn Rødland, Sissel Tolaas, Tom of Finland, Wei Jia, Ming Wong, and Betty Woodman.

Details »

Published on April 20, 2017 12:16 pm.

news | CHEN WEI: THE CLUB AT HORSHAM REGIONAL ART GALLERY

Chen Wei, "Disco #1004", 2015

CHEN WEI: The Club
Horsham Regional Art Gallery, Horsham, Australia
24 June 2017 - 13 August 2017

Chen Wei’s solo exhibition “The Club” is to open on June 24, 2017 and runs until August 13, 2017 at Horsham Regional Art Gallery.

Being one of China’s leading artists exhibiting in London, New York, Melbourne and numerous cities across Europe, Chen Wei is presenting photographs and installations that fabricate a visual archive of Chinese club culture in Horsham, Australia. Curated by Elias Redstone, The Club explores an undocumented subculture, reflecting on wider social changes that have taken place in modern China.

Details »

Published on April 19, 2017 6:30 pm.

news | LIU SHIYUAN IN .COM/.CN AT K11

Group Exhibition: .com/.cn
K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong 
21 March through 30 April 2017

Liu Shiyuan is selected to be included in the group exhibition .com/.cn, co-presented by the K11 Art Foundation and MoMA PS1. Co-curated by Klaus Biesenbach and Peter Eleey of MoMA PS1 in New York, this project is part of an ongoing research partnership of two institutions.

Details »

Published on April 19, 2017 5:23 pm.

fair | FRIEZE NEW YORK 2017

Li Qing, "Window · The Sea in the Museum", 2016-2017

Frieze New York
Booth B23
Randall’s Island, Manhattan
May 5th through 7th, 2017
Preview: Thursday, May 4th, 2017

Located at booth B23, the gallery will be exhibiting a solo presentation of Shanghai-based artist Li Qing, who was recently shortlisted for the sixth edition of Prix Jean-Francois Prat (2017), a prestigious international contemporary art prize mainly focuses on painting.
Details »

Published on April 19, 2017 1:42 pm.

news | AAAJIAO IN BODY MEDIA II AT PSA

Group Exhibition: Body·Media II
Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
April 29 through July 30, 2017

 

Artist aaajiao is selected along with other 23 artists/art groups from 12 countries to be included in the group exhibition “Body·Media II” at Power Station of Art, Shanghai,  co-curated by Gong Yan (China) and Richard Castelli (France). The exhibition continues the theme of 2007’s exhibition Body Media, re-discusses the close ties between new media and body within the new era context totally revolutionized by advancing technologies. It contains installation, performance, photography, video, and other hard-to-be-defined art forms, introduces cross-disciplinary cooperative patterns and exceeds boundaries of interactive art exhibitions.

Details »

Published on April 18, 2017 6:22 pm.

news | PIXY LIAO IN NSFW: FEMALE GAZE AT MUSEUM OF SEX

 

NSFW: Female Gaze
June 21, 2017
Museum of Sex, New York, USA

Pixy Liao is participating in the group exhibition “NSFW: Female Gaze” at Museum of Sex on June 21.

NSFW: Female Gaze, co-curated by VICE Media’s Creators, showcases over 25 emerging female artists from various disciplines dedicated to powerful feminine narratives. From Instagram and GIF platforms to textile and photography, these artists bring a fresh, eclectic, and unconventional approach to sexuality.

Details »

Published on April 18, 2017 2:49 pm.

news | LIU CHUANG IN CHINESE SUMMER AT ASTRUP FEARNLEY MUSEET

Chinese Summer 
02 June 2017 – 10 September 2017
Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway
 

Liu Chuang is selected to be included in the group exhibition “Chinese Summer” in Astrup Fearnley Museet, curated by Gunnar B. Kvaran and Therese Möllenhoff.  The name Chinese Summeris a metaphor for the nation and art scene that have seen explosive growth over the last two decades.

Acknowledging the importance of cultural and artistic production in China that has taken its position on the global stage, Astrup Fearnley Museet is presenting 2 generations of artists in the large group exhibition of Chinese contemporary art.

Details »

Published on April 18, 2017 2:38 pm.

news | AAAJIAO, CHENG RAN, LI QING IN MOCA PAVILLION


Group exhibition: All happens after sunset…
MOCA Pavilion, Shanghai, China
April 22nd through May 25th, 2017

Artists aaajiao, Cheng Ran and Li Qing participate the group exhibition “All happens after sunset” at MOCA Pavilion, Shanghai, curated by Xⁿ Office, a contemporary art curating group launched by researcher of art history Penny Xu and artist Ni Youyu. The exhibition is also part of the first phase of MOCA’s 2017 “+Follow+” young artist group exhibition project, to follow young Chinese artists in their development, observing them as they mold through their early stages and blossom into maturity.

Details »

Published on April 18, 2017 11:16 am.

fair | ART BASEL HONG KONG 2017

 
Art Basel Hong Kong
Stand C20
Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center
March 23rd through 25th, 2017
Preview Wednesday, March 22nd
 


Published on April 18, 2017 9:28 am.

news | AAAJIAO IN HEART OF A TIN MAN

aaajiao, “Email Trek”, 2016  
Group Exhibition: Heart of the Tin Man
June 20th through October 8th
M Woods Art Museum, D-06, 798 Art Zone
Beijing, China

Artist aaajiao is selected along with other 11 artists to be included in the group exhibition “Heart of the Tin Man” in M Woods Museum, Beijing, dedicated to the digital age. Heart of the Tin Man brings together works consciously revealing, investigating or subverting current Internet or technological practices. Drawn predominantly from the M WOODS Collection and the post-internet focus of co-founder Michael Xufu Huang, the exhibition includes virtual reality, digital mechanics, and interactive works to stimulate our senses of sight, smell, touch, and sound, and to register emotion within a contemporary world increasingly governed by algorithms, measurements, and marketing.

Details »

Published on April 17, 2017 4:56 pm.

news | AAAJIAO IN UNREAL. THE ALGORITHMIC PRESENT AT HEK

aaajiao,"Limited Landscape, Unlimited Floating", 2017

Group Exhibition: unREAL. The Algorithmic Present
Haus der elektronischen Künste, Basel, Switzerland
08 June through 20 August 2017 
 
 
Aaajiao is selected to be included in the group exhibition unREAL. The Algorithmic Present in House of Electronic Arts Basel. 
 
unREAL examines the complexity of our digital age, it is an exhibition that attempts to confront the digital present through the very means of technological intervention both as critical examination as well as alternative prospects. The twenty-four works in the exhibition by international artists underscore the often-hidden materiality of bits and bytes, bringing to the fore the algorithmic processes that constitute our digital present.

Details »

Published on April 17, 2017 2:59 pm.

news | CITY OF STARS

 

Leo Xu Projects and Art Project CZ co-presents
Group Exhibition: City of Stars
April 19th through June 19th, 2017
MINGO
No. 1690 Huaihai Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai

 

The collaborative group exhibition “City of Stars” between Leo Xu Projects and Art Project CZ runs from April 19th to June 19th, 2017. The exhibition aims to capture the nightlife and living experience in the former French concession area in Shanghai, and to project a broader encapsulation of the Chinese youth’s status quo. Artists on view include aaajiao, Chen Wei, Cheng Ran, Guo Hongwei, Li Qing and Liu Shiyuan.

 

Published on April 17, 2017 12:15 pm.

news | AAAJIAO AND LIU CHUANG IN SHANGHAI PROJECT CHAPTER 2

Shanghai Project Chapter 2
Envision 2116
Exhibition: “Seeds of Time”
April 22 – July 30, 2017
Venues: Shanghai Himalayas Museum, Envision Pavilion, Zendai Zhujiajiao Art Museum

 

Artists aaajiao and Liu Chuang are invited by Shanghai Project to participate in the exhibition’s second chapter as researchers. Curated by Yongwoo Lee and Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Shanghai Project Chapter 2 exhibition ”Seeds of Time” will be inaugurated on April 22, 2017. Taking its title from the documentary of the same name, which shares the project’s call for action regarding the climate situation, the exhibition seeks to explore sustainability so as to better understand possible solutions for urgent environmental and social problems.

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Published on April 15, 2017 12:22 pm.

news | PIXY LIAO: LADY AND GENTLEMAN AT GALLERI VASLI SOUZA

PIXY LIAO, "Family sushi", 2011

Lady and Gentleman
24 March – 22 April 2017
Galleri Vasli Souza, Malmö, Sweden
 

Pixy Liao’s solo show “Lady and Gentleman” is running at Galleri Vasli Souza, Malmö, Sweden from 24th of March through 22nd of April 2017.

Having studied photography at University of Memphis and lived in the States for over a decade, Liao is highly influenced by the style of New American Color Photography in her practices.

Lady and Gentleman showcases the alternative possibilities of heterosexual relationships and inscribe how a man and a woman can exchange their roles and question the whole concept of “normal relationships”.

Details »

Published on March 24, 2017 5:38 pm.

news | CUI JIE IN PAST SKIN AT MoMA PS1

CUI JIE, S House #5, 2016

Past Skin
April 6 – September 10, 2017
MoMA PS1
22-25 Jackson Avenue, Queens
Long Island City, NY 11101

Cui Jie will participate in the group exhibition “Past Skin” at MoMA PS1, New York, running from April 6 to September 10, 2017. In today’s technological environment, we can style, extend, and broadcast ourselves at will, projecting into digital realms that in turn shape us. The six artists in ”Past Skin” take up science historian and cyber-feminist Donna Haraway’s provocation, “Why should our body end at the skin?,” testing the growing porosity between our bodies and habitats in a contemporary world where virtuality is ubiquitous and surreality is increasingly normalized. As much as we exert influence on our bodies and surroundings, the technologies that enable this influence also influence us. Details »

Published on March 3, 2017 5:29 pm.