Statement

"My work depends on a genuine connection to the material. By playing with the material—testing, manipulating, experimenting, and examining, even leaving it for months—I watch for the moment of surprise, when the material responds to one or a series of actions, and leads to an exciting physical or conceptual outcome. That outcome itself sometimes becomes the lead into a new project.

Often, what I learned from the material calls for a particular set of elements: structure, spatial orientation, location, light, and sound. Other times, I respond to a space or location that I come upon by chance. It asks to be transformed or fulfilled. And through the spontaneous dialogue with the chosen material and sensitive spatial compositions, I attempt to deliver it.

As one who comes from the East and lives in the West, I have experienced two distinct and often contradictory value systems. These experiences constantly influence each other, at times create conflicts in my life, yet other times offer great inspirations for my work." —Beili Liu

Beili Liu's time and process based installations look at transience, fragility and time lapse. She embraces a broad range of mediums in her work: from everyday materials such as salt, water, needle, and thread, to digitally processed images, video, and sound.

Liu is a Chinese American artist born in Jilin, China, and now lives and works in Austin, Texas. She is currently an assistant professor of art at the University of Texas at Austin.