Qualia Contemporary Art

05/01/2026

Inside the Oakland studio of internationally recognized San Francisco based artist and educator Yulia Pinkusevich, the technical methodology behind her current exhibition, Emergence, is revealed through a exploration of material properties. These works are constructed through a sophisticated layering of mica, ash, and charcoal—found natural matter that Pinkusevich integrates with drawing-painting hybrid techniques and layers of ink, drawing the tension between atmospheric depth and precise, symbolic lines. This material approach is fundamentally tied to her investigation of the built environment and the systemic impact of human civilization on Earth’s cyclical systems.
Pinkusevich’s practice is rooted in a long-standing meditation on the politics of migration, war, and displacement—themes deeply informed by her own history. Her work spans large-scale installations and meditative studio experiments, consistently addressing the ecological and social casualties of the present day. By utilizing fire-derived media, she frames the flame as both a physical medium and a symbolic catalyst for historical renewal, capturing the urgent tensions of human impact and the natural world.

Currently On view at Qualia Contemporary Art
Closing: May 9th

Yulia Pinkusevich and Cathy Lu: Emergence
Stella Zhang: Tidal Traces

Gallery Hours:
Tue - Thur : 11 - 6PM
Fri - Sat : 11 - 7PM

Qualia Contemporary Art
229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA
[email protected]
www.qualiagallery.com

04/09/2026

Qualia Contemporary Art is pleased to present our inaugural presentation at EXPO CHICAGO (Booth 119): a group exhibition featuring works by Xu Bing, Wang Dongling, Tai Xiangzhou, Wang Tiande, Zhang Yu, Chu Chu, Victoria Yau, Hung Liu, and Huang Hairong.
This nine-artist, cross-generational selection represents the breadth of Qualia’s program in contemporary Chinese art — practices rooted in ink, calligraphy, landscape, and portraiture, each developed through distinct materials, methods, and concerns.
The presentation is anchored in Chicago by Tai Xiangzhou, whose work is held by the Art Institute of Chicago and was the subject of the museum’s solo exhibition Cosmoscapes (2021), and Victoria Yau (1939–2023), whose work was recently acquired by Northwestern’s Block Museum of Art and exhibited at Stanford University’s Center for East Asian Studies.

EXPO CHICAGO
Navy Pier, Festival Hall
Booth 119
April 9–12, 2026

03/25/2026

Lyu Peng (b. 1967) investigates the intersection of traditional Chinese heritage and the acceleration of modern urban society. Utilizing creative anachronism, Lyu collapses temporal boundaries—placing 20th-century signifiers and contemporary digital apparatus within Tang dynasty landscapes.
Rendered in mineral pigments on silk, his work functions as a cultural archive, reconciling the linear grace of Gu Kaizhi with the surrealism of Magritte. Lyu’s “theatrical figuration” suggests that younger generations possess the agency to selectively adapt history, creating a site for self-reflection amidst the bustle of the present day-to-day living.

Pictured:

LYU Peng
Goat Fable 山羊寓言, 2025
Ink and Chinese Color on Silk
47 6/25 × 31 1/2 in

LYU Peng
East Wind 东风, 2020
Ink and Chinese Color on Silk
118.11 x 137.80 in

LYU Peng
Blue Mountain 蓝山, 2023
Ink and Chinese Color on Silk
20.08 x 48.43 in

LYU Peng
The Youth, the Magical World, 2014 
Ink and Chinese color on rice paper
33.5 x 33.5 in

LYU Peng
The Era of Studying: Picture of Two Immortals 读书时代之二仙图, 2014
Ink and Chinese Color on Rice Paper
27.56 x 27.56 in

LYU Peng
Bugle 号角, 2020
Ink and Chinese Color on Rice Paper
27.56 x 27.56 in

LYU Peng
无题 Untitled, 2021
Ink on Silk, Chinese color
25 1/4 x 33 1/8 in

LYU Peng
Borrowing the East Wind - Rainbow 借东风-—彩虹, 2020
Ink and Chinese Color on Silk
29.92 x 36.22 in

Art Central Hong Kong | Booth A1
VIP Preview: 24 March
Public Days: 25 – 29 March

Peng

03/23/2026

Last week, Qualia was honored to host a session for WowMom, a professional crit group held by exhibiting artist and educator Yulia Pinkusevich.
Marking eight years of consistent dialogue, this collective of artists and mothers meets monthly to nourish one another’s practices.” In celebration of International Women’s Month, we highlight these vital circles as the backbone of a resilient creative ecosystem.
As we look to our current exhibitions, Emergence and Tidal Traces, we see this same spirit of inquiry reflected in their gathering. Qualia remains dedicated to being a home for these essential, ongoing conversations—bridging the space between the private studio and the public sphere.

Qualia Contemporary Art
On View:

Cathy Lu and Yulia Pinkusevich: Emergence
Stella Zhang: Tidal Traces

Exhibition Dates: March 7 – May 2, 2026
📍 229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Gallery Hours:
Tues – Thurs: 11 AM – 6 PM
Fri – Sat: 11 AM – 7 PM
Sun – Mon: By Appointment

Contact:
[email protected]
www.qualiagallery.com

03/18/2026

In Tidal Traces, Stella Zhang utilizes the cyclical ebb and flow of oceanic systems to map the connection between memory and the embodied female experience. Through the tensioning of knitted fabrics, thread, and ground pigments, Zhang creates surfaces that bear a close proximity to skin—marked by wrinkles, wear, and repair. These works make visible an internal landscape of exhaustion and adaptation, where the body registers the constant, compulsory rhythms of desire, pressure, and eventual release.

Exhibition Dates: March 7 – May 2, 2026
Location: 229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday – Thursday: 11 am – 6 pm
Friday – Saturday: 11 am – 7 pm

03/17/2026

In our current exhibition Emergence, Yulia Pinkusevich’s flame portraits move beyond mere representation to gesture toward Siberian animism and shamanic cosmologies, where natural phenomena are understood to possess distinct spirit and agency. Fire becomes an active presence within the work; to capture its mercurial motion, Pinkusevich utilizes a painting style tensioned between fine, diagrammatic marks and sweeping, atmospheric gestures. This technical approach gives rise to a rich range of graphic intensities, where meticulous attention to the effects of oxidation on substance, opacity, and hue imbues the compositions with an iconic aura.

Exhibition Dates: March 7 – May 2, 2026
Location: 229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday – Thursday: 11 am – 6 pm
Friday – Saturday: 11 am – 7 pm

03/17/2026

Cathy Lu’s sculptural works for our current exhibition Emergence draw upon the rituals of Chinese and Taiwanese temple to explore cultural re-creation. Centering the mythology of Nüwa—the creator goddess who fashioned humanity from the earth—Lu utilizes ceramic forms and incense burners as vessels for navigating themes of identity and spiritual transition. Her practice deconstructs the materiality of clay and smoke, positioning the act of creation as a continuous, regenerative ritual that bridges ancient cosmogonies with the contemporary Asian-American experience.

Exhibition Dates: March 7 – May 2, 2026
Location: 229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday – Thursday: 11 am – 6 pm
Friday – Saturday: 11 am – 7 pm

03/06/2026

Opening Ceremony & Reception
Saturday, March 7 | 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM 🕯️

“Emergence: Yulia Pinkusevich & Cathy Lu” and “Tidal Traces: Stella Zhang” are on view from March 7 – May 2nd, with the Opening Ceremony & Reception on Saturday, March 7 from 4:00pm–6:00pm.

We invite you to join us for a reception dedicated to community, shared rituals, and the essential contributions of women artists to contemporary art.

Central to this opening reception will be the lighting of Cathy Lu’s incense burners—the only time they will be burned for the duration of the exhibition. We invite you to experience this moment of communion with us.

On the eve of International Women’s Day, we welcome all backgrounds to gather, set intentions, and meet the artists, all three of whom will be in attendance.





Qualia Contemporary Art
229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto

03/04/2026

Stella Zhang: Tidal Traces
March 7 – May 2, 2026

Educated at CAFA in Beijing and Tokyo Art University, Stella Zhang has lived and worked in the United States since 2003. Her art is a way of interpreting various emotions and spiritual passages through raw and ordinary materials—choosing fabric, thread, and pigment to create effects of flatness, delicacy, and tranquility.
Stella’s work extemporaneously disregards rules and boundaries in an attempt to channel her intimate needs of expression. Her practice enables a personal reflection bordering on meditation, where memory stays through traces, misalignment, and repetition.”

Pictured:
INVISIBLE, 2020, Mixed media, 18 x 13 x 5 in
Viewpoint 8, 2015, 16 x 20 1/2 x 3in
Internal #3, 2019, Mixed Media, 24 x 30 in
Transformation, 2016, Mixed Media, 20 x 16 in
ABOVE THE DUST - 8, 2022, Mixed media, 22 x 24 x 2 in
MONOLOGUE, 2023, Mixed media, 40 x 30 x 26 in
LANDSCAPE, 2023, Mixed media, 48 x 24 in
OPEN A WINDOW, 2020, Mixed media, 36 x 22 x 2 in

Qualia Contemporary Art
Opening Ceremony: Saturday, March 7, 2026
Exhibition Dates: March 7 – May 2, 2026
📍 229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Gallery Hours:
Tues – Thurs: 11 AM – 6 PM
Fri – Sat: 11 AM – 7 PM
Sun – Mon: By Appointment

Contact:
[email protected]
www.qualiagallery.com

BayAreaArtists ContemporaryArt MixedMedia FineArtPaloAlto

03/04/2026

03/04/2026

Stella Zhang: Tidal Traces
March 7 – May 2, 2026

Educated at CAFA in Beijing and Tokyo Art University, Stella Zhang has lived and worked in the United States since 2003. Her art is a way of interpreting various emotions and spiritual passages through raw and ordinary materials—choosing fabric, thread, and pigment to create effects of flatness, delicacy, and tranquility.
Stella’s work extemporaneously disregards rules and boundaries in an attempt to channel her intimate needs of expression. Her practice enables a personal reflection bordering on meditation, where memory stays through traces, misalignment, and repetition.”

Pictured:
Invisible, 2020, Mixed media, 18 x 13 x 5 in
Viewpoint 8, 2015, 16 x 20 1/2 x 3in
Internal #3, 2019, Mixed Media, 24 x 30 in
Transformation, 2016, Mixed Media, 20 x 16 in
Above The Dust- 8, 2022, Mixed media, 22 x 24 x 2 in
Monologue, 2023, Mixed media, 40 x 30 x 26 in
Landscape, 2023, Mixed media, 48 x 24 in
Open a Window, 2020, Mixed media, 36 x 22 x 2 in

Qualia Contemporary Art
Opening Ceremony: Saturday, March 7, 2026
Exhibition Dates: March 7 – May 2, 2026
📍 229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Gallery Hours:
Tues – Thurs: 11 AM – 6 PM
Fri – Sat: 11 AM – 7 PM
Sun – Mon: By Appointment

Contact:
[email protected]
www.qualiagallery.com

BayAreaArtists ContemporaryArt MixedMedia FineArtPaloAlto