On January 16, 2026, artist Liu Feng will open his debut solo exhibition, "Deviations in Rupture," to the public at the Hello Market space in downtown Manhattan New York. Curated by Lan Shi, the exhibition will present a focused selection of the self-taught artist's most representative paintings, created since he began his practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The works delve into profound themes of labor, aging, responsibility, and the fragile balance between humans, society, and nature.
Liu Feng is a self-taught artist, photographer, director, and producer. It was the global pandemic of 2020 that, like a "caged beast," forced him into a spiritual corner and led him to "pick up the paintbrush again after many years." He turned to painting as the most direct means to re-examine life, reality, and the future, constructing a spiritual world to house his soul. His practice exists entirely outside the academic system, originating from the body's intuitive reaction and honest observation of an absurd reality.
Artist: Liu Feng
On his canvases, there is no refined rhetoric or pleasing structure. Figures are often pushed to the center, set against vast areas of blank background, depicted in postures of bearing, pausing, bending, and enduring. Whether it is a laborer carrying a giant fish, an elderly person bent over a farming tool, or other travelers bearing symbolic weight, these figures do not "perform" meaning but silently "bear" the weight of the world. Using a limited, somber palette of grays, reds, and browns, the artist builds a potent psychological atmosphere. His brushwork is clumsy, coarse, even absurd, yet its direct emotional force and visual accuracy form a raw, expressive visual language.
Created by Liu Feng
Curator Lan Shi notes that Liu Feng's works "appear simple, even rough on the surface, yet they possess a moving power due to their sincere gestures and visual accuracy." His painting does not seek entry into art history or alignment with any established framework but is stubbornly dedicated to exploring the "weight of existence." This body-centric, allegorical expression gives his works both a confrontation with the individual's real-world plight and a glow of universal, poetic dignity.
This exhibition is not only a presentation of one artist's personal creative journey but also a portrayal of a broader spiritual portrait in the post-pandemic era. It invites viewers to collectively contemplate the unavoidable weight of existence and listen for the echoes of the individual colliding with the times within the silent images.
Exhibition Information:
Title: Deviations in Rupture
Artist: Liu Feng
Curator: Lan Shi Power
Dates: January 16 – January 30, 2026
Venue: Hello Market | 46 Market St, New York, NY 10002
Media Contact
Company Name: Beyondmatter Space
Contact Person: Shi Lan
Email: Send Email
Country: United States
Website: https://www.instagram.com/beyondmatter_space
