Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) in downtown Los Angeles presents Animal Instinct, a solo exhibition by LA-based painter and illustrator Kristen Liu-Wong, opening November 22nd in Gallery 2. Known for her bold, narrative-driven style, Liu-Wong fuses scenes from daily life with surreal, dreamlike imagery and dark humor. Her work—marked by vivid color, intricate patterns, and tightly composed storytelling—draws inspiration from American folk art, childhood cartoons, Japanese shunga (erotic art), and architecture.

In Animal Instinct, Liu-Wong examines the duality of human nature, reflecting on humanity’s denial of its own animal instincts. The artist began this series during a time of global upheaval and personal crisis—amid Los Angeles wildfires that forced her to evacuate her home. She describes her new works as meditations on violence, control, and the illusion of separation between humankind and the natural world. “Humans often forget that we are animals,” she says. “We use our intellect to amplify our primitive impulses—fear, greed, jealousy—creating mass violence where an animal would only bite.”

Through these paintings, Liu-Wong highlights humanity’s contradictions: our capacity for beauty and destruction, empathy and exploitation. Her vivid compositions reveal the tension between intellect and instinct, civilization and savagery. The result is a body of work that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant, compelling viewers to confront the volatile essence of being human.

Animal Instinct opens Saturday, November 22nd, from 7:00–11:00 PM in Gallery 2 at Corey Helford Gallery. It runs through January 3rd, alongside solo exhibitions by Messy Desk (A Journey to Wonderland), Marc Le Rest (Under the Pink), and Martin Hsu (In This Moment). The show is free and open to the public, offering an immersive exploration of humanity’s most primal truths.