In Existential, Being, Chinese artist Liu Shuishi turns to ancient Greek mythology as a framework for confronting life after a profound, transformative event. Rather than dramatizing an “existential crisis,” the exhibition approaches existence as an ongoing condition—marked by moments of suffering, sacrifice, revelation, and transcendence that unfold over time.
The exhibition brings together twelve new paintings and a central installation, marking Shuishi’s first solo presentation in New York since 2020. The works function as interconnected chapters within a larger psychological and emotional narrative. Deities drawn from Greek mythology appear not as heroic archetypes, but as vessels for inner states—memory, doubt, resilience, and becoming—mapping a process of sustained self-examination.
Many of the works take their titles from Greek mythological figures, whose supernatural powers and human flaws once offered a way to understand the complexities of human nature. Here, those figures are reactivated as symbolic stand-ins for personal reflection. Moving through the exhibition feels like passing through different rooms of the same story, each representing a distinct moment in the artist’s evolving sense of self. Together, the works pose open-ended questions: Who am I becoming? What must be revisited to move forward?
Liu Shuishi is a New York–based painter and installation artist whose practice draws from Western philosophy and art history, including German Expressionism and Abstract Expressionism, alongside traditional Chinese calligraphy. His paintings feature elongated figures, abstract markings, and thickly worked oil paint, combining gestural intensity with a romantic, emotionally charged palette. Influences ranging from Nietzsche and Kant to Freud shape a practice rooted in consciousness, perception, and being.
Exhibition Information
Location: Isabel Sullivan Gallery, 39 Lispenard Street, New York
Website: https://is.gallery
Hours: [Gallery hours not provided]
Exhibition Dates: January 22 – February 28, 2026
