4/15 Hung Lui: Portraits of Promised Lands

On April 15 the Fellows had the rare opportunity to have artist Hung Lui join us to talk about her upcoming exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), “Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands,” which will open in August of this year.  A contemporary Chinese artist, she is known for having created new ways of understanding portraiture in relation to history, time and memory. While this will be the first museum exhibit to focus on her portraiture, her work extends beyond painting and includes mixed media and site-specific installations. Many of her paintings have been inspired by photographs, and her work has made visible those who historically have not been seen or heard. It also draws on her own life history of growing up in China and having lived through war, political revolution, exile and displacement. This has led to work which presents a complex, multifaceted look at Asian American experience. In describing her work she said, ” The story of America as a destination for the homeless and hungry of the world is not only a myth. It is a story of desperation, of sadness, of uncertainty, of leaving your home. It is also a story of determination, and—more than anything—of hope.” Hung Liu, 2017. 

An intimate conversation discussing her life, her work and the exhibit was conducted between Hung and Dorothy Moss, Acting director of curatorial affairs as well as curator of painting and sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery and coordinating curator of the Smithsonian Women’s History Initiative.  Fellows had the opportunity to ask questions, and engage in discussion that further informed their understanding and provided much food for thought for their own projects.

The second half of the afternoon was led by Briana Zavadil White,  who is the Head of the Education Department at NPG. Using some of the portraits that will be included in the upcoming exhibition, she led the Fellows through a process of inquiry utilizing Project Zero Global Thinking routines.  Fellows had the opportunity to engage with the Liu’s works in ways that led them to understand how teaching their own students to read portraiture can lead to rich conversations and deepen understanding of our theme, “Facing the Complex, Multiple Challenges of the 21st Century.”