A Walk In Progress

Hi all, 

I have an art show with Jeremy Rountree titled, A Walk in Progress, the opening reception is on September 16, Friday, 7-10pm at Current Space in Baltimore.  I am expecting that you can't make it.  However, if you will, please say hi to me before you leave.  If I am in the middle of a conversation with an important person, please don't interrupt.  You can usually tell by the beverage of their choice, wine.  I thank you in advance.

I was in a lecture the other day, I heard the lecturer say: "...art is sometimes pretentious but ultimately beautiful."  I resonated with it so much that the half digested scramble egg carbonated itself from my stomach to the back of my throat allowing me to savor the breakfast I had once more. 

I forgot to mention that the reason why I was in a lecture was because I had to, I am in grad school.  Being in lectures is part of the new job description.  And I am getting used to the traveling-back-in-time breakfast phenomenon.  No worries, its frequency can be controlled by Prilosec, as long as I take one before the lecture.  And I make sure to pop one before I leave the house on a critique day, allowing enough time for Prilosec to settle and curbing it from being over enthusiastic. 

When was the last time you received an email from me notifying you about my art show?  I haven't updated my contact list in such a long time. Clicking your email addresses into the Bcc brought back fond memories!  I wish everyone Merry Christmas!  From 2015 until the one most recently passed and might as well this one coming up, in case I forget.  Just to catch you up, I got married in 2018.  During the Covid stay inside episode, my wife and I decided to have a baby.  We decided to make love instead of war.  I have been a dad for a little more than a year now, and the baby is still alive!  I haven't had a cigarette in a long time, so I wear a mouthguard at night.  I have regained my sense of smell, so thank you for putting up with me over the years. 

I will be presenting 4 new works for the art show.  I wonder how to determine the newness of an art work?  I remember in the Ancient Through Gothic class during undergrad, every art in the slide presentation is new to me but they are old, like history.  Most of the ancient relics are sculptural objects, sometimes they are made of stone, wood, ivory and sometimes even a human body--mummies.  The historians and cultural study experts determine the meaning and narratives of these objects based on their knowledge learned from books and the internet but not from the artists and craftsmen who made them (because they can't, they're dead!).  They are playing the best Telephone game they can by coming up with something.  My point is the Venus of Willendorf may not be depicting a female body, it may be the head of a bug!  The breasts could be eyes, the vagina could be the mouth, the legs could be the teeth, and the supposed head could be a pinecone.  What is this based on, you ask?  It's based on the fly who scrubbed its hands on my scrambled egg, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  Have some imagination, come on!  We were kids once!

A Walk in Progress is a group of sculptures depicting a family of BigFoot traversing through a forest made up of trees with butts.  This work is my response to the civil unrest and political instability within the U.S. during 2020.  The family of BigFoot represents an American family and they are grinding through their daily lives with their hands covering their noses and faces from their habitat, a forest of trees with butts emitting a foul stench and incongruous sights. 

A Mirage of Positivity is an ostrich burying its head into the sand and the head emerges from the ground staring at its own rear end which resembles a smiley face emoji.  This work is about my sentiment of an unpredictable future.  I fear famine, disease, poverty, natural disasters, energy crisis, war, political extremists and the pretentious art world barrelling down upon my family and friends yet I am in the studio making a smiley face emoji on an ostrich's butt. 

Self Pong Experience is an interactive sculpture.  In 2013, I made a painting of a man playing ping pong by himself portraying my mood during lonesome studio hours.  This year, I made Self Pong Experience, a real-life version of the painting.  A half of a ping pong table is installed against a mirror wall and as the player plays a game of ping pong by themselves with their mirror reflection, a speech of affirmation is generated by the ball striking against the mirror.  The affirmations are my voices pre-recorded, they are self encouraging , comforting and assuring.  This piece is a self-portrait intended to invite the viewer or player into my headspace. 

The Epic Level By JCVD is a parody of an advertisement video by Volvo trucks, The Epic Split featuring Jean Claude Van Dame seen on Youtube.  Why am I compelled to invest time, money and energy into making this piece of thing, you ask?  Because this video soothes, simmers and alleviates my mood whenever it is inflamed.  Late to class and stuck in a traffic jam, I need The Epic Level.  Quarrel with wife without a resolution, I need The Epic Level.  Got to the beach and it stormed, I need The Epic Level.  Drank a mouth full of milk and found out it had turned into cheese, I need The Epic Level.  Expensive natural wool clothing got tossed into the washer dryer and shrunk to the size for a spider, I need The Epic Level.  After reading the daily news, I need The Epic Level.  Boss threw me under the bus, I need The Epic Level.  Didn't get the lottery pick of a better school for the kid, I need The Epic Level.  Biting into pieces of egg shell when enjoying the scramble egg breakfast, I need The Epic Level.  Missing the game winning shot in a pick-up basketball game, I need The Epic Level.  Behind on mortgage payment and found out I owe IRS money, I need The Epic Level.  Purchased an Amazon product but the instructions are in simplified Chinese, I need The Epic Level.  Bought a pack of beer wondering why I feel no buzz and found out they are non-alcoholic, I need The Epic Level. You may need The Epic Level as well.  You may need it now while reading this jam.  The Epic Level by JCVD is the intersection of practicality and art, if I do say so myself.   

I am from Taiwan, I immigrated to the U.S. with my family at 13 years old to Plano, Texas.  If you don't know what Taiwan is, you are a liar.  Because you know me.  I remember writing an essay on 'What do you want to be when you grow up' as a kid.  The same assignment reoccurred every year during my elementary school career.  It's like the 'Self Portrait' assignment in every drawing class I have ever taken.  To be honest with you, I still love thinking about what to be when I grow up because it makes me feel hopeful!  There is still time and room to learn new things, grow and explore.  As if I am Max from Where the Wild Things Are, sailing a canoe in a vast open ocean.  Sometimes a wild island appears on the horizon and I jump ashore to explore.  This island may be populated by friendly masseuses, yoga instructors, spiritual healers and acupuncturists, or it may be populated by little elves in shackles who wear VR headsets out to capture and convert me into serving their lord.  A friend once revealed his concerns about my decision on being an art student again because the academic institution wears VR headsets and produces artists who often forget to add soul into their work.  To my friend I must reply as such: an island missed is an island unexplored.  I shall remain as a tourist with a film camera in my hands, carefully observing and appreciating every detail, taking every picture as if it's the last frame.  The day will come when all has passed, and I will have the memories to savor and stories to tell, whether indeed these are evil elven clergy wearing VR headsets attempting conversion or friendly Apple genius bartenders who are just here to help.

If you have read this far along, I lean 90 degrees forward bowing to you with sincere thanks.  You have just read my bio and artist statement  which corresponds with the content in my portion of the show.  Please bear everything I said in mind when you are viewing my work.  You shall not have other thoughts, emotional flares, and physical reactions other than the guideline I have just provided you with.  Remember those are trees with butts, they are not breasts, and they certainly do not resemble male penae.  Those are Bigfoot, not electricians who got electrocuted, not burn victims, and they certainly do not represent anything racial in any shape, form or fashion.  That is an ostrich, not a vulture, and the head emerging from the ground does not connote an erection of male genitalia.  That is Jean Claude Van Dame, not Bob Odenkirk.  Those are semi trucks, not school buses.  And that is a ping pong table meant for a game of ping pong , not a tabled blackboard reflecting my life as a student.   But if my work reminds you of penae, kamasutra or any unchristian behavior, I highly recommend Dr. Melfi, she is the best in shrinksdom.  Listen to the artists but not the curator, we are content creators and they are DJs.  I am right here! 

I mentioned that I am expecting you to not be able to make it to the opening reception.  But deep in my abyss, I hold high hopes to see you.  Like those musicians in the sinking Titanic, they kept on playing despite shit hitting the fan.  What else is there for me to do other than drawing a smiley face emoji on an ostrich’s butt?  O yeah, that’s right, I got it! going back to school!  To make sure you don’t come disappointed, I am sharing some reviews of the work in this show from the professors.

“One liner…”

“I would not want to see this again.”

“What is this kitschy stuff?”

“There is no mystery…”





P.S., Mom, Art Matters!





truly and warmly,


Andrew Liang

A Mirage of Positivity

Staying positive with optimism for the future makes me feel like this….

Self Pong Experience (In Progress)

“Self Pong” is a painting that I made in 2013 illustrating my mood as I grind in the studio, comparing it to playing ping pong by myself. “A Self Pong Experience” is an interactive project that brings the painting into reality.

Sexy Patate, "The Vogue" edition

"The Vogue" is created to comment on fashion, vanity, wealth, materialism, and human's natural attraction to shiny objects. As Sexy Potato unpeels itself revealing its flesh, irresistible as potatoes are to eat e.g. french fries, chips, hash browns, tater tots, boxty, mash potato and gravy...etc. the image titillates both gastronomical and sexual arousal. By placing the Sexy Potato inside a mirrored box frame and mimicking it as a cover for the fashion magazine, Vogue, it is now more special than the other editions of Sexy Potato. Just like there are countless beautiful people in the world e.g. my mother, who never made it on the Vogue magazine.

Christmas 2020

Social-ism

During the Shut-Down, I thought about my friends. I compared humans to zebras, we need each other to survive.

Sexy Potatoes 2020

In 2012, I made The Sexy Potato for “Double Barrel” exhibition. I was inspired by an empty Lay’s potato chips’ bag on the street of Baltimore while walking to my day job. The first edition of 1 was made in 2012 and the second edition of 1 was made in 2013. While cleaning out my studio recently, I discovered copies of them, some painted, some were just drawings on cut out boards, so I restored all of them. This is the 3rd and final edition of 14.

An Exhibition of Animal's Routines

Animals don’t need dioramas of humans explaining their routines. However, humans need dioramas of animals explaining their routines.