An Te Liu's Bronze Styrofoam Sculptures at Anat Ebgi Gallery

An Te Liu presented bronze sculptures cast from repurposed Styrofoam packaging at Anat Ebgi in Los Angeles from June 9 to July 15, 2017. The works transformed disposable material into elegant, abstract forms that reference modernist and classical traditions. Liu's process involved minimal intervention for some found pieces, while others were carved with a hotwire before bronzing. Titles like 'Eidolon VII–IV' (2016), 'Eudaemon' (2017), and 'Edifice Complex' (2016) incorporate classical allusions and wordplay. A bronzed disco ball titled 'The Party's Over' (2017) hung overhead. The sculptures evoke comparisons to Lee Bontecou's wallworks, Isamu Noguchi's natural forms, and the abstracted figures of Henry Moore and Umberto Boccioni. Displayed on a long platform in the narrow gallery, the arrangements suggested anthropological reliquaries or funereal statuary. The exhibition highlighted the tension between the material's toxic reputation and its transformation into enduring monuments. ArtReview covered the show in its September 2017 issue.