Liza Lou (born 1969) is an American visual artist. She is best known for producing large scale sculpture using glass

beads A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...

. Lou ran a studio in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa from 2005 to 2014. She currently has a nomadic practice, working mostly outdoors in the Mojave Desert in southern California. Lou's work is grounded in domestic

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

and intersects with the larger social economy.

Early life and education

Liza Lou was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Lou attended the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a Private college, private art school, college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mis ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, but dropped out in 1989 when it became evident her professors did not take her work with beads seriously.

Career

Early career (1989-1996)

Lou came to prominence with the work ''Kitchen'' (1991-1996), a to-scale and fully equipped replica of a kitchen covered in beads. The work took five years to complete and was followed with ''Back Yard'' (1996-1999), for which Lou enlisted the help of volunteers to recreate grass in a model of a backyard. Lou's career has subversively pushed the glass bead as a medium in art making from early representational works to more abstract works which evolved out of her time collaborating with skilled bead artisians in South Africa.

Durban, South Africa (2005–2014)

Lou's practice evolved from themes of labor and craft to include community. Her expansive practice formed out of necessity as many hands were needed to continue to weave and sew large scale beaded sculptures and installations. In 2005, Lou established a studio in

Durban, South Africa Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay o ...

, a complement to her studio in Los Angeles. Lou reached out to an organization called Aid to Artisans with an idea that her bead practice could provide income in high crises communities. Their dialog resulted in Lou's moving to Durban to work with a collective of Zulu women. At the time, Durban was the epicenter of the HIV epidemic and unemployment was as high as 70% in the townships. In Durban, Lou created many sculptures and paintings working "elbow-to-elbow" with 50 highly skilled South African Zulu beadworkers. Lou has said that working in Africa imparted to her the importance of how an artwork is made, in that the making cannot be separated from the meaning of the work. Lou's work came to embrace process over concept as evidenced by her 2016 installation, ''The Waves.'' This work showcased a thousand white beaded dishcloth sized squares revealing marks from the hands that made them, as well as woven beads that are cracked, streaked, and stained. Lou credits the women from her Durban studio with expanding her sense of beauty. "I am touched by the beauty and grace of the women I have been privileged to work with, and by their joy and laughter."

Southern California (2014–present)

Lou returned to Los Angeles in 2014 but continued to run her Durban studio, commissioning woven panels and canvas that would be incorporated into her installations. Lou's current practice often finds her working outdoors in the solitude of the Mojave desert. Lou is revealing more of her own hand in newer works by incorporating painted gestural mark making. “ olitudehas given me the opportunity to explore my own gesture in ways that I haven’t done in many many years.” Lou's solitary practice embodies a challenge to stay present and grounded in the silent labor of her work. However, when the 2020 Pandemic required isolation and social distancing, Lou found enforced solitude onerous. She took to Instagram to invite the public to join her a in communal project called ''Apartogether,'' in which she prompted artists and the public to gather together materials and old clothes to piece together a quilt or more symbolically a "comfort blanket." She hosted artist talks and "sew-in" sessions via zoom to engage participants. Her 2021 body of work "Desire Lines" features beaded sculptures that are monochromatic, echoing the Joshua Tree desert landscape where she often works "en plein air."

Awards

Lou won the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2002 and the Anonymous Was a Woman Artist Award in 2013.

Notable works

Kitchen 1991-1996

Lou single-handedly created this career launching installation throughout the first decade of her 20's. ''Kitchen'' is a 168-square-foot mosaiced fully furnished kitchen with millions of shimmering glass beads. The installation took her five years "and a few pair of tweezers" to complete. Components such as cereal flakes were fashioned with paper mache then coated with glue and glass beads. ''Kitchen'' is a statement on the invisible yet powerful value of women's labor. ''Kitchen'' questioned the ideas of 'women's work' just as the studded material challenged the distinction between 'serious; male art and women's arts and crafts.' The work was first shown in part as ''Kitchenette'' in 1994 at the California State University, Fullerton art gallery. Following a promising opening, Lou sent postcards of the installed work to American curators she admired. in 1995, Lou successfully captured the attention of Marcia Tucker, founder of the

New Museum The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum at 235 Bowery, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker. History The museum originally opened in a space in the Graduate Center of the then-nam ...

. ''Kitchen'' was first exhibited in its entirety at the New Museum in a 1996 group exhibition called "A Labor of Love." The experimental group show included 50 artists whose practice embraced labor-intensive process or craft in unique ways. Tucker assured Lou that her curatorial intention was not to reinforce stereotypes but to challenge "cherished hierarchies" by exhibiting work that pushed the boundaries of what makes a work "art." ''Kitchen'' continues to inspire conversations about craft, art, and feminism. ''Making Knowing: Craft in Art, 1950–2019, a group show'' at the Whitney Museum, displayed Kitchen after ten years in storage in another group show designed to bring awareness to the artists employing craft in their practice. The exhibition is organized by Jennie Goldstein, Assistant Curator, and Elisabeth Sherman, Assistant Curator, with Ambika Trasi, Curatorial Assistant. They state, "by highlighting marginalized modes of artistic production, these artists challenge the power structures that determine artistic value." After viewing the exhibition Garage Magazine journalist Sophie Kemp wrote that "''Kitchen'' is a deeply campy and seductive piece of feminist art." ''Kitchen'' is in the permanent collection of the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

in New York City.

Backyard 1996-1999

''Backyard'' is a 528 square foot installation of a garden featuring 250,000 blades of grass. Each 'blade' of grass is a wire strung with beads. This threading process would have taken Lou 40 years to complete the installation thus prompting Lou to break her solitary practice by inviting volunteers from the public to help. What struck Lou about the collaborative process is that everyone's threaded wire appeared slightly different even though they had the same materials and prompt. ''Backyard'' is in the permanent collection of the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, Paris.

Continuous Mile, 2006-2008

In 2006, Lou started creating one of her most notable works, ''Continuous Mile'', with help of a team of Zulu women. ''Continuous Mile'' is composed of more than 4.5 million black beads, sewn into ropes which are then coiled into a cylindrical shape. The theme of this work is "work," or process. As Lou states, "The idea was to employ as many people as possible, using the slowest possible technique in order to engage a community, and to build homes in the process of making an art work." This work was acquired by the

Corning Museum of Glass The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning (city), New York, Corning, New York, United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Incorporated, Corning Glass Works and currently has a ...

in 2014.

The Clouds, 2015-2018

For three years Lou collaborated with her Durban Studio artisans in South Africa to stitch together 600 hand sewn beaded cloths. The final installation consists of a 100 foot long canvas artwork titled “The Cloud.” This work originally debuted at the 21st Biennale of Sydney in 2018. Lou first incorporates oil paints into her practice with this work stating, "it's the first time I've made work where I've really shown my gesture." The Cloud also showcases a new technique in which Lou hammers the woven beaded cloths to reveal an underlying framework of frayed threads unraveling from their previous grid. This technique reveals the dedicated labor required to produce a seemingly perfect hand sewn beaded cloth. Lou describes this method as evolving out of exploring the question, 'what can the beads do, that paint can't do.' ''The Clouds'' is notable in that it pushes the boundaries between painting and sculpture.

Solo exhibitions

* 1994: ''Kitchenette, ''California State University Art Gallery, Fullerton, CA * 1995: ''Socks and Underwear, '' Franklin Furnace, New York, NY * 1996: ''Liza Lou, ''John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA * 1996: ''Liza Lou, ''Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI * 1996: ''Liza Lou, '' Capp Street Projects, San Francisco, CA * 1996: ''Forty-two American Presidents, ''Quint Gallery, San Diego, CA * 1996: ''Kitchen, ''

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the List of largest art museums, largest ar ...

s'', ''Minneapolis, MN * 1997: ''American Presidents 1-42, ''Quint Gallery, San Diego, CA * 1997: ''American Presidents 1-42, ''California Center for the Arts Museum, Escondido, CA * 1997: ''American Presidents 1-42, ''Hudson River Museum of Westchester, Yonkers, NY * 1998: ''Most Admired Disorder, ''Haines Gallery, San Francisco, CA * 1998: ''Portrait Gallery, ''P.P.O.W., New York, NY * 1998: ''Backyard,''

Fundació Joan Miró The Fundació Joan Miró ( ; English: Joan Miró Foundation, Centre of Studies of Contemporary Art) is a modern art museum honoring the life and work of the Spanish artist Joan Miró, located on the hill called Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia ( ...

, Espai 13, Barcelona, Spain * 1998: ''Kitchen and Backyard, '' Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA * 1998: ''Liza Lou,''

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 1994 in Kansas City, Missouri. With a $5 million annual budget and approximately 75,000 visitors each year, it is Missouri's first and largest contemporary museum. Founders The core of the museum's per ...

, Kansas City, MO * 1998: ''Portrait Gallery, '' Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO * 1998: ''Liza Lou, '' Bass Museum of Art, Miami, FL * 1999: ''Kitchen,'' University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie, WY * 1999: ''American Presidents 1-42, ''Contemporary Arts Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach, VA * 1999: ''Kitchen, ''Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, OH * 1999: ''American Glamorama,''

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

, Vanderbilt Hall, New York, NY * 2000: ''Liza Lou, ''

Akron Art Museum The Akron Art Museum is an art museum in Akron, Ohio, United States. The museum first opened on February 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute. It was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library. The Institute offered clas ...

, Akron, OH * 2000: ''American Presidents 1-43,'' Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution of American Art, Washington, D.C. * 2001: ''Trailer,'' Southeastern Contemporary Art Center, Winston-Salem, NC * 2001: ''Liza Lou II, '' Bass Museum of Art, Miami, FL * 2002: ''Leaves of Glass,''

Henie Onstad Kunstsenter The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter is an art museum located at Høvikodden in Bærum municipality in Akershus, Akershus county, Norway. It is situated on a headland jutting into the Oslofjord, approximately southwest of Oslo. History The artcentre ...

, Oslo, Norway * 2002: ''Liza Lou, '' Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany * 2002: ''Testimony,''

Deitch Projects Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)''Los Angeles Times''. born July 9, 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects (1996–2010) and curating groundbreaking exhi ...

, New York, NY *2004: ''The Damned'', Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France''Liza Lou's catalogue on artnet Monographs''
/ref> *2006: ''Liza Lou'',

White Cube White Cube is a contemporary art gallery founded by Jay Jopling in London in 1993. The gallery has two branches in London: White Cube Mason's Yard in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London; White Cube Hong Kong, in Centra ...

, London, UK *2008: ''Maximum Security'', Lever House, New York, NY *2008: ''Liza Lou'', L&M Arts, New York, NY *2010: ''American Idol'', Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris *2010: ''Liza Lou Drawings'', Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris *2011: ''Liza Lou'', L&M Arts, Los Angeles, LA * 2011: ''Liza Lou: Let the Light In'', SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, GA *2012: ''Liza Lou,''

, London, UK *2013: ''Color Field, ''

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is an art museum in La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the ...

, San Diego, CA *2014: ''Canvas'', Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa *2014: ''ixube'', Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France *2014: ''Solid/Divide'',

, Bermondsey, London, England *2015: ''Liza Lou'', Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS *2015: Color Field and Solid Grey, Neuberger Museum of Art, Westchester, New York, NYLehrer, Adam
"
''Forbes'', October 21, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-08. *2016: ''Liza Lou'', The Waves Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria *2017: ''ingxube''

Lehmann Maupin David Maupin is an American art dealer. With Rachel Lehmann, he opened the Lehmann Maupin gallery in SoHo, Manhattan, in October 1996. Before opening Lehmann Maupin, Maupin was the director of Metro Pictures. Early life and education Born in Ca ...

Gallery, Hong Kong, China *2018: ''Classification and Nomenclature of Clouds''

, New York, NY *2019: ''The River and the Raft,''

, London, UK *2021: ''Both Sides, Now'',

, Palm Beach, FL *2021: ''Desire Lines'',

, London, UK

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lou, Liza Living people 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists 20th-century American artists Artists from New York City MacArthur Fellows 21st-century American artists Artists from Los Angeles San Francisco Art Institute alumni 1969 births