Chia Hsiu Liu Catalog:_Name Your Place
Bmore Art - Flying House Arts Collective Inserts Artworks in a Second-Hand Store
Where The Maps Run Out Exhibition Review - Written By Patrick Bell
Interview with Bold Journey Magazine
Interview with Canvas Rebel
Liu’s paintings focus on rootlessness and the fluctuating identity of an Asian artist in metropolitan cities, exploring the excitement of a futuristic, urban perspective. Her abstract paintings are inspired by the architecture and fast pace of the cities she has lived in, especially Taoyuan (Taiwan), Baltimore, and New York. In her first year of study at the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting at MICA, Liu aims to maintain a watery effect in her oil paintings and uses her self-developed collage technique to create large-scale works. While experimenting with the material qualities of oil paint, linen, and stretcher bars, Liu came to see collage as a way to structure the chaotic, intuitive ideas in her mind. She begins by channeling all her energy onto the linen, then cuts and rearranges the fabric to suit her vision, ultimately creating a renewed composition on a fresh canvas. Working primarily in oil, Liu has also developed techniques to evoke humidity on the surface, echoing the atmospheric conditions of her hometown, Taiwan. After two years of developing large-scale abstract landscape painting at school, Liu began to draw attention to the organic structure of plants and started a series of works on seasons. The floral and seasonal-inspired color palette yields a vivid, prosperous aesthetic in the newest series of work.
In addition to her painting practice, Liu conducts research on the sense of rootlessness in East Asian artists’ work, seeking to identify shared qualities of an East Asian atmosphere and to understand how geography, culture, and history shape artistic expression. With a background in art management, her work bridges fine art and social practice. As a member of the Flying House Arts Collective, which has organized numerous events across Baltimore, she continues to host projects she cares deeply about with the group. Grounded in the physical and communal aspects of organizing, Liu draws on direct engagement with local communities; learning the stories of a place sharpens her observations, which in turn inform and are absorbed into her paintings.
Education
2025 Maryland Institute College of Art - LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting (MFA)
2023 Yuan Ze University - Master of Arts Management (MA)
2021 Yuan Ze University - Bachelor of Art and Design
Solo Exhibitions
2026 Heather Grey Gallery, Baltimore, USA – ’Seasons Without Soil’
2022 Mazu New Residential Quarter, Taoyuan, Taiwan – ’Transparency and Duality’
Group Exhibitions
2026 Egatniv Vintage, Baltimore, USA – ’Slippy Authorship!’
3700 Falls Rd, Baltimore, USA – ’Residual Frequency’
2025 The Peale Museum, Baltimore, USA – ’Chromafugue’, LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting Thesis Show ‘25
Atrium Artspace, Baltimore, USA – ’Where The Maps Run Out’
The Ven Art Gallery, Washington, D.C, USA – ’Dialogues of the Diaspora’
Chair Station Gallery, Michigan, USA – ’Ghost Town’
First & Franklin Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, USA – ’Spread Your Wings’
2024 The Fox Building, Baltimore, USA – ’Caesura’, LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting fall exhibition ‘24
2023 Fred Lazarus IV Center, Baltimore, USA – ’Conjure’, LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting fall exhibition ‘23
Award/Partnership
2025 Global Creative Graduate Showcase 2025 – Shortlisted Artist
Hopper Prize – Selected Artists
Hamiltonian Artists – Selected Partnership Artists
2024 Maryland Institute College of Art – Bunting Award for Graduate Excellence