Liu Lu

Rooted in the unique contexts of Asian subcultural discourse, Shang’s practice continuously engages with the body, desire, and the power structures underlying them. Themes of strength and heroism, along with the metaphors and implications of battle and conquest, form the core of her work. Through repeated refinement, she develops figures and visual symbols tied to these themes, across series of paintings and sculptures. Her widely acclaimed “Muscle Man” series has become central to her artistic trajectory and earned her significant recognition. Emerging from her acute gender awareness and what she describes as a deep-seated “fear of physical strength,” this artistic persona encompasses multiple ongoing sub-series—including “The Real Boy”, “Good Hunter”, “Boxing Man”, and “The Split Self”—initiated in 2012 and continuing to the present. For Shang, the body is more than flesh; muscle itself can be understood as a kind of “garment,” akin to clothing as an adornment of the body, offering a viable pathway to deconstructing corporeal identity.

1991   Born in Taizhou

2017   China Academy of Art, MFA in painting

Lives and works in Hangzhou, China

Solo exhibitions

2025  Liu Lu: Shimmering, Phantoming, Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing

2024  Liu Lu: Luminance Veil, Line Gallery, Shanghai

2023  Eyes of The Night, Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing

P2P: In the Name of Lights and Shadows, Leo Gallery, Hong Kong

Group exhibitions

2025  META-LIGHT: Sentiment and Through in Post-Screen Painting, Deer Vision Gallery,Datong

After the Body: We Find Structures of Emptiness, Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing

Out of Line: After the Studio, Iris Art Museum, Suzhou

I Did It My Way, ISM Art Space, Shenzhen

2024  Rehearsal: Works by 30 Post-90s Artists, Chun Art Museum, Shanghai

Reshaped Landscapes, Line Gallery, Shanghai

The Dialogue of Colours, SxS Gallery, Shanghai

2023  The Gift of Holly, Line Gallery, Shanghai

The Surge of Forms, hiart space, Shenzhen

Kong-Fu: Form and Meaning, Yuan Art Museum, Beijing

Diversity of Forms, Sailing Space, Shanghai

Ideal Images, Epoch Art Museum, Wenzhou

Mercurial Fountain, Santo Hall, Beijing

A Star at Dawn, A Bubble in a Stream, Gene Gallery, Shanghai

Night is the Shadow of the Earth, Wind H Art Center, Beijing

L’ oeiI ecoute, ArtPro Space, Beijing

Sweet Spot, BLANKgallery, Shanghai

2022  Summit of Hermits, Santo Hall, Zhengzhou

A Marvellous Memory, Jiushi Art Gallery, Shanghai

K, Martin Goya Business “Martin Goya. pig & HOME Theatre”, Hangzhou

Inquiry to Change, Stone Art Gallery, Zhengzhou

2021  New West Lake, MOCA Shanghai, Shanghai

Slightly Larger, Xu Gallery, Shanghai