Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago is pleased to announce its second artist residency with Wen Liu. Liu will begin a six-week residency on January 23, 2021. The first four weeks will be remote from her studio, and during this studio portion of her residency, Liu’s artistic progress can be followed on TSA CHI’s instagram through images and other forms of documentation, as well as related programming. The work she produces during her residency will be on view in the gallery from February 20 to March 6. On Saturday, February 20, 2021, we will celebrate with a reception from 12:00 - 4:00pm. This will be open to the public, as will be the open hours on Saturdays February 27 and March 6, but attendance will be limited and visitors will need to make an appointment in advance in order to visit the gallery. 

Wen Liu’s work records her experiences with transience and permanence as a foreigner in the United States. By engaging with the various environments and objects that she encounters, Liu seeks to find a sense of security in a land that is not her own. In her work, Liu deploys remnants of reclaimed furniture and fabric, as well as more ephemeral materials like ash, to create sculptures and assemblages that are often propped up, draped, melting or otherwise slipping away. This residency will allow her to further her recent studies into experimental papermaking and its application, through focused time in which she will explore the cultural significance of China’s papermaking history as well as the role it can play as an agent for storytelling in her own work. Liu’s TSA CHI residency will also provide opportunities for collective cultural reflection and exchange through programming that will occur throughout her residency. Details to come.

BIO
Wen Liu was born in Shanghai, China and is currently based in Chicago, IL. She is a DCASE Individual Artists Program Grantee for 2018, 2019 and 2020, and she received the Illinois Arts Council Agency 2020 Artist Fellowship Award. She has attended residencies at Vermont Studio Center, MASS MoCA, ACRE and Center Program at Hyde Park Art Center. Her work has been exhibited in the National Grand Theater in Beijing, China; 6018/North, Zhou B Art Center, Manifold Gallery and Culture Center in Chicago; and most recently at Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City, IN and the Chicago Cultural Center.