Meet Yefu Liu | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yefu Liu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yefu, can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
In Praise of Shadows (1933) by Junichiro Tanizaki

This book tells the beauty of darkness with a unique oriental perspective. It’s about aesthetics and meditation. It’s a slow and peaceful way to review the continues misunderstanding between today’s east and west.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The biggest feature of working in art is that you are relatively free and can decide many things by yourself, including creativity, production, work progress, exhibition plans, etc. Of course, this work usually requires the cooperation of many people, such as galleries, workers, and transportation personnel. This may be a relatively easy job in the short term, but if you stay in this industry for a long time, it will definitely require a lot of patience and a logical way of working. The challenge of this work comes from many projects that have been carried out but cannot be implemented. They are caused by a variety of reasons, including funding, political environment, transportation costs, etc., so although it seems easy and chill, it actually requires a certain degree of compromise. What I learned the most is how to turn a hobby into a career and insist on working in this industry. Art is a long-term thing, and you can’t have too much speculation in this industry.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I will take them to state parks and wetland parks in Maryland to look for local creatures, such as certain water birds, reptiles, and fish. We also go boating and fishing. Of course, we will also go to the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Baltimore Museum of Art, and then go to the ocean city in Maryland for camping and barbecue.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Belgian artist Johan Grimonprez and Chinese artist Yang Fudong. Johan’s work connects film clips in a clever way to dissolve and reconstruct history. He expresses serious criticism of social events in a humorous way and Yang’s works are also serious and avant-garde. They attract me from the form, but also allow me to discover the context of ancient Chinese art from the content.

Website: http://liuyefu.com

Instagram: liu_yefu

Image Credits
courtesy of Liu Yefu and Magician Space, Beijing