Among Our Own: The Art of Family, Friends, Colleagues, and Students from the Collection of Hung Liu and Jeff Kelley

Kala Art Institute presents Among Our Own: The Art of Family, Friends, Colleagues, and Students from the Collection of Hung Liu and Jeff Kelley, exploring the relationships, friendships, and creative communities that shaped the lives and work of artists Hung Liu and Jeff Kelley.

In collaboration with the Hung Liu Estate, the exhibition brings together works from the collection that Hung Liu (1948–2021) and Jeff Kelley (1952–2025) built over decades, reflecting their deep engagement with artists, communities, and friendship and mentoring networks. Rather than a traditional collection, it is a record of relationships formed through exchanges, gifts, collaborations, shared experiences, and moments of mutual support. Among Our Own celebrates the interconnected creative ecosystem of the Bay Area and the communities that nurture artistic and cultural growth.

Alongside artworks by Hung Liu, Ai Weiwei, Liu Xiaodong, Mildred Howard, Christopher Brown, Carrie Mae Weems, Martin Puryear, Stephanie Syjuco, William Wiley, Enrique Chagoya, and many others, the exhibition includes photo albums and personal artifacts. Together, these materials trace Liu and Kelley’s artistic and personal journey from San Diego—where they met—through Texas, China, California, and Nevada, with the Bay Area at its center.

In his recent writing for the exhibition, now especially poignant following his death, Jeff described the collection “as an unintentional yet deeply personal archive. It was never intended to be comprehensive or systematic; instead, it grew organically from friendships, collaborations, and encounters with fellow artists. The works mark moments of connection and transformation—births and deaths, beginnings and departures, shared travels and creative discoveries.”

Presented in memory of Hung Liu and Jeff Kelley, Among Our Own is a portrait of two intertwined lives and a testament to the vibrant artistic community they helped build and sustain. At its heart is a story of belonging—how artists shape one another’s lives, how communities carry memory forward, and how a collection can become a living record of friendship, generosity, and creative exchange.

Among Our Own: The Art of Family, Friends, Colleagues, and Students from the Collection of Hung Liu and Jeff Kelley, is co-curated by Dorothy Moss and Mayumi Hamanaka.