Section FOUR Universal Identity

Let us stride into the unknown future

From here, the exhibition expands into the boundless realm of universal identity — where the soul transcends all boundaries and reveals our shared human essence.

Youju LIU, the visionary founder of Illusionist Painting, guides us toward this cosmic horizon. Born in 1955, he left established institutions in 2011 to forge a radical new visual language. His works have been exhibited at the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Louvre, the British Museum, the 2024 Venice Biennale, and the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art (GNAMC) in Rome in 2025.

In paintings such as Flower, Shadow, Tropical, and Long Flower, familiar forms of blossoms, branches, and landscapes dissolve into swirling, fluid rhythms of pure energy. Through dynamic pouring, dripping, and layered acrylics, Liu creates ambiguous silhouettes and cosmic symbols that hover between figuration and abstraction.

Here, technique itself becomes a universal philosophy. Forms emerge and dissolve simultaneously, mirroring how individual identity both shapes and is reshaped by something far greater than itself. There are no fixed borders — only the borderless language of joy, longing, vitality, and transcendence that every human heart instantly recognizes.

These radiant works complete the exhibition’s arc: from the quiet whispers of cultural memory, we arrive at this luminous affirmation of our common humanity.