Ariel Liu is a Taiwanese-American multidisciplinary artist based in San Francisco. Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Ariel’s artistic roots trace back to her childhood fascination with online art communities.
Initially self-taught in digital tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Procreate, Liu's expertise expanded to include web development during her eight-year career as a software engineer. However, her current practice has shifted dramatically towards tangible materials, embracing clay, graphite, charcoal, oil paint, pen and ink, and paper cutting. This transition reflects Liu's desire for tactile feedback and a respite from screen-based work.
Ariel holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction with a minor in Art from Carnegie Mellon University. Her work has been shown at the Congressional Art Competition in Washington D.C. and the Alvord Desert Art Exhibition in Alvord, Oregon.
Artist Statement
I work in oil, acrylic, clay, and paper to explore the liminal space where apparent opposites converge and dissolve. I am fascinated by the threshold where duality collapses into nonduality—where tension and release, ascension and descension, attachment and surrender coexist not as contradictions but as complementary expressions of a deeper truth.
My practice serves as a meditation on the nature of perception and a reminder that suffering often emerges from our attachment to particular interpretations. Through visual paradox and intentional ambiguity, I aim to create moments of nonsymbolic experience—glimpses of reality as it is, unfiltered by conceptual overlays.
Ultimately, my work is an invitation to rest in the space between stories—to experience the freedom that comes from seeing things as they are, not as we are.
Exhibitions
2025 Pattern, Shape, and Form, SF Women Artist's Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2025 Blue Note, KnK Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
2025 Super Bloom, KnK Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
2025 Holding on and letting go (solo), Etcetera Wine Bar, San Francisco, CA
2024 Paper Moon Final Show, Wave Collective, San Francisco, CA
2024 SF Open Studios, Madrone, San Francisco, CA
2024 Unbound Vessels, Gallery-o-rama, San Francisco, CA
2024 The Hearth Group Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
Publications
2025 Forum Vol. 17 Issue 1
Awards
2025 Forum Editor's Choice Award - Art