Review in Art in America!

Thrilled to share a wonderful review by Diana Seo Hyung Lee. It will also be published in the September 2022 issue of the Art in America Magazine. You can read the full review here: https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/aia-reviews/ani-liu-cuchifritos-gallery-1234634558/

“Liu is interested in the metaphorical implications of this development: women, who are often politically reduced to vessels for carrying children, and who are then expected to raise those kids through overlooked labor, can produce milk that contains unacknowledged carriers of sustenance for their babies. This is not an affirmation of women as vessels nor an assertion that breast milk is the only right option. It is an exhortation to look more closely not only at the unborn, but also at the women who bear them, without turning away.”

https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/aia-reviews/ani-liu-cuchifritos-gallery-1234634558/

Review in Brooklyn Rail

Very grateful for this wonderful review in the Brooklyn Rail by Helena Haimes. You can read it here:

https://brooklynrail.org/2022/07/artseen/Ani-Liu-Ecologies-of-Care or here as a PDF.

“The exhibition as a whole is uncompromisingly sharp, almost clinically so. There are no images of cute babies or depictions of tender moments, and it all hangs together memorably as a result. Liu presents a stark, uncompromising take on the experience of caring for a young baby.

It’s actually a remarkably brave move—reluctant as I am to describe it that way. I think most artist-parents would be inclined to agree that art-making and parenthood are horribly difficult to reconcile. In 2022, it’s depressing that this labor remains so invisible to so many that Liu’s work has such an impact by ‘exposing’ it. This eloquent show feels as if it’s part of a broader effort to force the realities of caregiving into public consciousness.

I hope it heralds a shift in attitudes, an attempt to carve out some space for these experiences and treat them as worthy of artistic reflection. Motherhood isn’t going anywhere, and the more decent artists treat it as ripe territory for contemplation, the sooner the situation for artist-parents might start to shift for the better.”

—Helena Haimes for The Brooklyn Rail