Liu Shuishi - Existential, Being

In Existential, Being, Chinese American artist Liu Shuishi looks to ancient Greek gods and goddesses to face the world following a profound, life-altering event. Rather than focusing on the drama of an “existential crisis,” Existential, Being considers existence as a sustained condition, depicting moments of revelation, suffering, sacrifice, or transcendence.

The exhibition brings together twelve new paintings and a central installation, marking Shuishi’s first solo exhibition in New York since 2020. Existential, Being will be on view at Isabel Sullivan Gallery from January 22-February 28, 2026, with an opening reception taking place on January 22 from 6-8pm at 39 Lispenard Street in Tribeca, New York.

The exhibition feels like a journey through Liu’s self-reflection, with the deities representing the different emotions, memories, and inner states that shape the development of oneself over time. Each work is like a different room from the same story, from different moments in time, as he is becoming more and more himself. Together, they ask enduring questions: Who am I becoming? Who do I want to be to myself, and what parts of my existence must I revisit to get there?

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Host or Publisher Isabel Sullivan Gallery