Hung Liu - Women Working: Millstone
American, born in China, b.1948
Women Working: Millstone, 1999
Etching and aquatint, 40.75 x 54.5 inches
Edition 19/35
Paulson Press
01.011

Purchased by the William Davidson Institute

Liu was born in Changchun, China in 1948, growing up under the Maoist regime. She emigrated from the Peoples Republic of China to the United States in 1984, having come of age as a young woman and artist during the Cultural Revolution. She currently lives in Oakland and is a tenured professor in the art department at Mills College.

In the Millstone print she represents three generations of women toiling together and grinding cornmeal in an old stone mill. Referencing Chinese folk art in her choice of color and imagery, she also includes a mysterious calligraphic text in brilliant red. With Chinese characters in an ancient version of the written language, it suggests deep time and the continuity of traditions.