Liu Ye Prelude, 2018

The image of a lush red curtain covers almost the entire canvas of Prelude. On the right a lone figure can be seen that peers out from the shadows. Delineated by a pattern of vertical lines that suggest the folds of the heavy fabric, the red surface hovers between figuration and abstraction. Yet, the figure, looking out from behind the curtain directly at the spectator—breaking the theater's so-called fourth wall—anchors the image in its stage-like setting. The red curtain is a major recurring motif in the artist's oeuvre.