Curating Culture: Why Jeffrey Ziyu Liu Unites Art, Style, and Community

With a clear, future-focused vision, Jeffrey Ziyu Liu has carved a distinct niche in today’s art world. As the co-founder of Stilllife, a next-gen global art community, and the co-chair of the Young Patron Council at Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum (RAM), he represents a new generation of tastemakers influencing the international art landscape. His work bridges cultural, geographical, and generational boundaries while offering a fresh perspective on how art can be experienced, collected, and appreciated.

As Jeffrey Ziyu Liu concluded a successful Shanghai art week in November 2024, it is evident how his career reflects the new, more inclusive global art world that Generation Z collectors and entrepreneurs are helping to shape. He combines his cross-cultural experiences with a passion for creating community and healthy ecosystems. 

A New Voice in Art Leadership

Jeffrey’s NYC flat is filled with art by the likes of emerging artists Ren Light Pan, Lorenzo Amos, Dexter Vandersall, Harry Gould Harvey IV and established Chinese artists Zhu Jinshi and Li Jin. These are all artists Jeffrey has worked with through Stilllife or has been collaborating with on his curatorial explorations. Jeffrey has been living in this flat for the past few years when he began studying at New York University for a degree in art history.

Since then, Jeffrey has worked at Christie’s Auction House NYC location, Miguel Abreu Gallery, and the UCCA Museum in Beijing, shaping his understanding of traditional and modern art markets. Yet, his decision to co-found Stilllife marked a significant shift in his outlook, offering a fresh, flexible model for art curation.

Unlike traditional art world businesses such as galleries, auction houses, and art fairs, Stilllife doesn’t operate from a fixed space or a fixed model per se. Instead, it embraces the dynamism of community gatherings and international pop-up exhibitions, allowing art to be showcased in venues that reflect each location’s unique cultural or historical context. 

“Community has always been at the core of Stilllife. We are at a stage in our company where we highly value our relationship with artists, collectors, patrons and fellow art professionals. “ Jeffrey Ziyu Liu explains. “They also allow us to move between cities and countries, creating art experiences tailored to different audiences and communities.” 

StillShow by Stilllife: Starting from NYC

In May 2024, StillShow by Stilllife NYC opened under the theme “Can Thought Go On Without A Body?”, presenting curated artworks from 20 emerging artists from diverse backgrounds, featuring paintings, sculptures, and installations that delve into the complexities of human experience and intellect. The show was held in 54 Crosby Street, a landmark location in SoHo, NYC with a rich artistic heritage. Previously the studio of Arturo di Modica—the sculptor behind Wall Street’s famous Charging Bull provides an inspiring backdrop that bridges historical creativity with contemporary innovation.

“Can Thought Go On Without A Body?” is a group show that illuminates artificial intelligence’s dissipation of human subjectivities, bringing together artists who collectively engage with the themes of retrospection and introspection as a response to the displacement of humanity in the AI era. It provides a contemplative space to reflect on human identity, and invites viewers to consider what remains uniquely human in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

The show features a group of 20 emerging artists, most based in New York City and born in the 1990s or later, each with unique approaches to contemporary art. Their practices span a range of mediums—French, Japanese, and American artist Naoki Sutter-Shudo (b.1990) explores dichotomies of East and West, nature and artifice, systems and irrationality with carefully constructed objects and shrewd conceptual flourishes; Chinese artist Xingzi Gu’s (b.1995) magnetic colors blur Eastern and Western painting techniques to highlight a deeply intimate and relational space.; Lorenzo Amos (b. 2002) offers a fresh perspective on American iconography through his oil paintings inspired by New York; while Ren Light Pan (b.1991) incorporates her background in video art to queer the ink medium with intimately vulnerable works on canvas. 

A particularly impactful initiative of Jeffrey’s was during the May 2024 NYC StillShow where he and his team staged a panel, a club party, a music performance, and a poetry performance all in the span of ten days. These events brought together over 500 emerging artists and industry leaders. Specifically, Jeffrey organized an experimental music performance with the underground NYC music community, Gatsa, while also leading a collaboration with Accent Sisters, a poetry community.

Through his efforts, these events became a nexus for meaningful connections, resulting in significant opportunities for many participants. Stilllife has since developed close relationships with Gatsa, Accent Sisters, and the non-profit art community, The Here and There Collective which is an indicator to Jeffrey’s strategic relationship cultivation.

StillShow by Stilllife: Travelling to Shanghai

The incredible feat for Stilllife has been continuing its success of the large-scaled travelling exhibitions in both New York City and Shanghai. 

The debut StillShow by Stilllife Shanghai was on view in November 2024, at the trendy ROCKBUND neighborhood. The group show, themed “Nostalgic Mayfly,” presented 50 artworks from 13 emerging artists across New York City and Shanghai, featuring paintings, sculptures, and site-specific installations that navigate memory, identity, and cultural heritage in a post-globalised world.

Through this travelling art show, Stilllife solidified themselves as one of the only next-generation Chinese communities actively bridging Shanghai and NYC through highlighting diasporic narratives.

“Nostalgic Mayfly” continues the NYC StillShow explorations by examining the search for self in an age of dislocation, where regional cultures and personal histories are increasingly detached from geographic origins and mediated through external markers of memory and nostalgia. Through a diverse range of artistic practices, the exhibition highlights how the next-generation reclaims fragments of history and cultural memory to construct identity amidst the complexities of modern life.

“This Shanghai show is a homecoming we have been waiting for. All of our co-founders met in NYU Shanghai, and in a sense, the international ethos of Stilllife was always reflective of this metropolis Chinese city. Stilllife’s travelling exhibitions are a response to our diasporic experiences of living outside of our home country but feeling very much tied with our culture. We are excited to cultivate a strong community in Shanghai that actively converses with our NYC friends.”

– Jeffrey Ziyu Liu, Co-Founder of Stilllife

Stilllife’s exhibitions have not only garnered critical acclaim but have also made a significant financial impact, generating over $100,000 in sales for emerging artists in the past year. This financial success underscores Liu’s ability to make art accessible while sustaining the artists he collaborates with across social media. 

Leading figures in the industry have praised Liu for his ability to engage younger collectors and push the art world in a more inclusive direction. In addition to curating exhibitions, Jeffrey Ziyu Liu regularly mentors emerging curators and artists, guiding them in navigating the complexities of the modern art world. His leadership is evident through his involvement in panels, where he shares insights into how Gen Z is transforming the art market.

Gen Z’s Growing Influence in Art

The rise of Gen Z art collectors has dramatically transformed the art market. Once dominated by older, wealthy patrons, the market has seen an influx of younger buyers eager to support emerging artists and new forms of artistic expression. In this age, art is no longer confined to the traditional elite but open to fresh perspectives and new voices.

Young collectors, especially those from Gen Z, are influencing this movement with an emphasis on inclusivity and cross-disciplinary creativity. In line with this, Jeffrey Ziyu Liu has created an extensive network of young patrons through Stilllife and RAM. 

“These young collectors want to join the larger cultural conversation, not just buy art for its aesthetic value,” he explains. “They are interested in how art intersects with social justice, sustainability, and identity. They see their role as not just buyers but as cultural stewards.”

Jeffrey Ziyu Liu’s participation in a live panel for the “Art From the Outside” podcast, part of 2024’s Armory Show, demonstrates his leadership among emerging patrons. The panel explored how young collectors are dealing with the dynamic art market. Jeffrey also joined UBS x West Bund Shanghai’s live panel along with Larry’s List Shanghai panel event in 2024, both speaking on the perspectives of Gen Z patrons.

“Your support for the artists and institutions behind the work matters greatly,” he says. “This generation is looking for deeper, more meaningful connections in their cultural contributions.”

Cultural Philanthropy and Community Building

Central to Jeffrey Ziyu Liu’s work is his dedication to fostering cultural exchange and building a global art community. He is crucial to this mission as co-chair of the Young Patron Council at Rockbund Art Museum (RAM). 

During StillShow by Stilllife Shanghai 2024, Jeffrey and his Stilllife team also co-hosted the RAM Gala After Party. The Gala Party, titled “Voyages of the Suspended Four Seas” (四海浮游), continues the oceanic experience of the Gala.

Historically, the Four Seas (四海) were the seas surrounding the four directions of ancient China, representing a worldview of the lands encircling the empire. Yet, the four seas were not only a metaphor for the boundaries of China before the Han Dynasty, but they also appear in the utopian phrase “四海之内皆兄弟” (Within the Four Seas, all are brothers), used by Chinese scholars as a metaphor for unity.

The party suspends these indications of space and relationships by focusing on the liminal voyages that artist Angela Dimayuga’s “WAN HAI Hotel” concept embodies. Much like the museum’s archipelago thinking, the Four Seas represent an expansive mindset rather than a geographic element.

The party was attended by the international art world and lasted well into the evening. Jeffrey’s role enables him to bridge Eastern and Western perspectives while promoting contemporary art to a broader audience. His focus on engaging the Asian diaspora and supporting underrepresented voices speaks to his commitment to inclusivity.

“Asia is gaining more visibility in the global art world, and I’m excited to be part of that movement,” he says. “It’s about creating opportunities for cultural exchange and making certain that diverse perspectives are represented.” 

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