Liu Ye's Monumental Bamboo Bamboo Broadway Transforms Sperone Westwater Exhibition

Liu Ye's 2012 exhibition at Sperone Westwater featured a dramatic departure from his signature style of small-scale, cartoonish paintings. The show, running from September 6 to October 27, 2012, was held at 257 Bowery in New York City. Central to the presentation was the monumental nine-panel painting Bamboo Bamboo Broadway (2011-2012), measuring 236 by 354 inches. This two-story, 20-foot-high work synthesizes references to Neo-plasticism and traditional Chinese screen painting within a near-monochrome composition. The painting's immense scale challenged the vertical gallery space designed by Norman Foster. Close inspection reveals subtle tonal variations, crystalline faceting reminiscent of early 20th-century Cubist or Orphist painting, and faint pencil scribbles that include the character Miffy. The artist's earlier, more intimate works often depicted young girls reading or contemplating art alongside the Dutch rabbit Miffy, rendered with a pearly, old masterly palette that contrasted with their kitschy subjects. The large new work creates a conceptual dialogue with these smaller pieces, as if a character from one had intervened upon the larger canvas. The gallery's contact number was 212 999 7337.