Downtown Los Angeles Gets Primal: Kristen Liu-Wong's Animal Instinct Exhibition

Downtown Los Angeles is about to get primal. The Corey Helford Gallery will open Kristen Liu-Wong’s newest solo show, Animal Instinct, on November 22, and it’s a riot of color, chaos, and uncomfortable truths. Known for her surreal storytelling and unapologetically feminine grit, Liu-Wong once again uses her brush to unpack the bizarre contradictions of being human. The Chinese American painter blends candy-bright palettes with dark humor, erotic tension, and folklore surrealism. Her women bite, bloom, and burn all at once—every scene both intimate and mythic.

Beauty, Brutality, and the Beast Within

This time, Liu-Wong goes deeper. Animal Instinct was born out of a year heavy with violence and upheaval. “Humans forget that we are animals,” she says, calling out our arrogance, our appetite for destruction, and our obsession with dominance. Her new works—like She Was Ravenous That Night and Paradise Lost and Found—are both confessions and accusations, layering psychological tension beneath jewel-toned bodies and bold symmetry. The results are dazzling and damning, like pop saints caught mid-sin.

Art That Scratches Back

Liu-Wong’s process videos, shared with Hi-Fructose Magazine, show the physical toll of her meticulous craft: months spent in a “painting hole,” creating worlds where instinct rules and civility dissolves. The collection debuts alongside A Journey to Wonderland by Messy Desk and solo shows by Marc Le Rest and Martin Hsu—an entire night of dreamers with claws.

The opening reception for Animal Instinct happens November 22 from 7 to 11 PM at Corey Helford Gallery, with the show running through January 3. Expect color, chaos, and a mirror that might just bite back.