Over the summer, School of Art + Design Professor of Art Charlene Liu was named one of the three Hallie Ford Fellows in the Visual Arts. The Hallie Ford Fellow in Visual Arts is awarded by The Ford Family Foundation (TFFF) which recognizes preeminent Oregon artists for their excellence. A jury of five professional artists selected Liu, Marcus Fischer, and Sam Hamilton for this year's recognition. Each winner was evaluated by three criteria: the quality of the work, the evolution of the work, and the impact of the work.
“I see Liu’s work becoming increasingly thoughtful and personal, reflecting on nostalgia, distances from/longing for homelands, familial relations, and migration stories that shape so many of us.” says Jenny Lin PhD, Director of the MA Curatorial Practices and the Public Sphere, University of Southern California, “Simultaneously, Liu’s work has in recent years become more and more relevant by integrating cross-cultural themes and helping to foster intercultural understanding and empathy at a time of rising geopolitical tensions.”
Born in Taiwan and raised in the American Midwest, Liu's work weaves together familial histories, cultural tropes, and decorative motifs to explore the malleable conditions of memory, heritage, and identity. She has been exhibited at the USC Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA; Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA; Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts, Umatilla, OR; Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, OR; and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University, OR. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from Columbia University, New York, and a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. She looks forward to continuing her work and building relationships with curators.
“It has been a rewarding experience to collaborate with curators on my two recent projects.” Says Liu, “I would like to continue building relationships with curators who can help contextualize my art for a diverse, intergenerational audience.”
All three fellows will receive a $35,000 unrestricted award to support their practice.
Read the TFFF announcement here: https://www.tfff.org/the-2024-hallie-ford-fellows-in-the-visual-arts/.