Catch the Shadow by Zhihan Liu

中文版 - Chinese version      

Artist list

Zhihan Liu

From 2009 to 2016, Ms. Liu graduated from Konkuk University and Seoul National University successively with the bachelor’s and master’s degree of Metal Technology, from which she gained a comprehensive understanding and practical research experience in metalwork techniques. In the meanwhile, she also developed unique insights into the traditional material of metal. From her works, it seems quite apparent that the element of line is her favorite modeling language. The unique tension and toughness of metal wires provide her with ceaseless inspiration during her creation process. With unremitting practice and experiments, Ms. Liu aims to achieve the ultimate expression of every single line, which also carries the simple pleasure she is pursuing from artistic creation.
 
In Point and Line to Plane, Kandinsky mentioned that a straight line could be regarded as the result of the external force from another source, while a curve was the result of the simultaneous action of two or more external forces. This statement perfectly interprets the forging process of a metal line. If we want to obtain a metal line of a complex shape, we have to hit the wire repeatedly through the continuous action and reaction between the hammer and anvil. Every bit of effort will be directly reflected in the final work, which shows not only the trajectory of records but also the ultimate achievement.
 
In the new series of works, Ms. Liu extensively uses the wire knitting technique. When studying in South Korea, one of her teachers was an excellent craftsman in wire knitting, but this interesting technique was not incorporated in the formal course syllabus. Her teacher thought that wire knitting was a simple skill that could be learned in 5 minutes, so it was not necessary to take up any class time. Ms. Liu learned this technique with her teacher as a personal interest. She recalled that: everybody learned quickly in the beginning, but later on, when we wanted to create something exquisitely, we gradually realized that this technique required a lot of practice, patience and effort before we could master it. There were 12 students in Ms. Liu’s class, no one insisted on practicing this technique, including herself.
 
After graduation and returning to China, Ms. Liu became a teacher herself. Under the pressure of work and personal life, the spare time she can use for creation has been squeezed drastically. As a Metalwork Technician, she desired to find a way that was easier to control at the current stage, so that she could make full use of fragmented time to create some small but interesting works, without being restricted by the environment and equipment. Thus, she thought of wire knitting, which would allow her to make artistic works at any place with light, as long as there is a crochet hook and a roll of wire. Ms. Liu said that the practice and study of a craft technique was sometimes like cooking. When different people worked with different strengths or in different directions, although using the same technique, the resulted works might still exhibit subtle differences. When Ms. Liu’s Korean teacher saw her wire knitting works recently, she told Ms. Liu that you seemed to have found your own way.
 
In our coming exhibition, the metal craftworks to be exhibited include not only Ms. Liu’s jewelry design but also some utensils. She believes that jewelry exists for the human body, while utensils exist for space. Both of these two expression forms carry the function of dressing and decorating. When an object is displayed in the space, there will be a shadow under the light. For a work composed of lines, it can often accidentally produce an interesting visual effect of shadow following the shape. Shadow naturally becomes a part of Ms. Liu’s works and equips them with a lyrical and romantic tone. For this reason, the name of our coming exhibition is born: Catch the Shadow.
 
Welcome to The Closer Gallery to appreciate the charm of metal craft - the simpler the better.