"Dapeng Liu Wants You To Slow Down" by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
There is stillness everywhere if you know where to look. Dapeng Liu’s latest exhibition presents this immovable state in both painted abstract landscapes and recreations of split-second frames from popular films, news and the internet. Displayed side by side, from the disparate surfaces, something harmonious emerges.
“They have a different sense of stillness,” says the Sydney-based artist of his paintings. “I got a lot of feedback for my previous works from audiences—they can see calmness, peacefulness and stillness in there. I’m expanding this into a different realm.”
Born in Beijing, Liu takes inspiration from traditional Chinese landscape painting, adapting its shifting perspectives into his own work. The artist’s colourful landscapes depict mountains and water through this lens, often with translucent areas where the overlap creates a new shade. “I always mix geometric shapes, that I think belong to the human-made world, with natural shapes,” he says.
August 28, 2024