Where Nothing Begins: A Curatorial Walk-Through with Yifu Liu
Szelit Cheung, Edge V, 2026. Oil on linen, 9.5 × 11.8 inches.
A private event in collaboration with the Harvard Business School Club of New York
Date & Time
April 14, 2026
5:00–7:00 PM
An intimate curatorial walk-through and reception of Flat, the solo exhibition by Melbourne– and Hong Kong–based artist Szelit Cheung. Led by art historian Yifu Liu, the evening will explore the delicate interplay between presence and emptiness at the heart of Cheung's practice.
Through luminous oil paintings on linen and wood, Cheung depicts architectural interiors stripped of figures and objects — yet rich with atmosphere. These carefully constructed spaces reframe the void not as absence, but as an active, resonant field where viewers project their own feelings, memories, and sensory impressions, completing the work through personal engagement.
The evening will conclude with a reception and open dialogue, reflecting on the quiet intensity of Cheung's vision.
Speakers
Yifu Liu is an art historian and curator. He is a PhD candidate in Art and Archaeology at Princeton University, and Anne L. Poulet Curatorial Fellow at The Frick Collection. His research focuses on the cultural exchange and hybridization of artistic practices between Europe and China in the 18th century. He was the doctoral fellow at the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at Boston College, and he worked in the curatorial and education departments of the Morgan Library and Museum (New York), Brooklyn Museum (New York), and Princeton University Art Museum (New Jersey). Currently, he is organizing an exhibition at The Frick, Ruffles & Ribbons: Fashion Plates from the Time of Marie Antoinette, opening on April 1. He is also presenting the inaugural lecture on Chinese porcelain at The Frick on March 20, marking the first time the museum participates in Asia Week.
Echo Yu He is a multi-talented art professional with a proven track record in curatorial practice, research, writing, and arts administration. She currently serves as Research Services Director at Pace Gallery, where she leads institutional research initiatives supporting exhibitions, publications, provenance inquiries, and scholarly collaborations. She previously served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, teaching Arts Administration in Asia and Asian Contemporary Art Markets, and now teaches in the Visual Arts Administration program at New York University (2026 Spring Semester). In 2013, Echo founded Fou Gallery, an independent contemporary art platform committed to amplifying the voices of Asian and diasporic artists through researchedriven exhibitions, healing-oriented programs, and community gatherings.
Fou Gallery has garnered international media attention and is widely regarded as a notable model for cultivating a sustainable cultural ecology outside of mainstream gallery structures. In recognition of her curatorial leadership and contributions to contemporary art discourse, Echo has received the Yishu Award for Curating Contemporary Chinese Art (Shanghai, 2016), a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition (New York, 2018), a New York State Assembly Certificate of Merit (New York, 2020), and was nominated as a Rising Star at the AAPI Women’s Gala (New York, 2024). In addition to her curatorial and research work, she is a prolific art writer, contributing regularly to publications such as The Art Newspaper (China), Art China, Condé Nast Traveler, Lens, Marie Claire, Tussle Magazine, and World Heritage Geography.She is also a practicing milliner and runs her own studio, Chapeau Echo. Echo Yu He holds a B.A. and M.A. in Business Administration from Peking University and an M.A. in Visual Arts Administration from New York University.
