Pixy Liao: Relationship Material at the Center for Photography at Woodstock brings together nearly two decades of work in which the artist and her partner, Takahiro Morooka (known as Moro), turn their relationship into artistic material. On view from October 3, 2026, through January 17, 2027, the exhibition presents approximately 45 works from Liao’s ongoing series Experimental Relationship, including color photographs, soft sculptures, music videos and elements of PIMO, the offbeat music duo the pair formed together. The show, originally organized by the Art Institute of Chicago, is expanded in collaboration with CPW and curated by Yechen Zhao with Adam Ryan.
Since 2007, Liao has staged self-portraits with Moro that playfully examine intimacy, identity and gender roles. The images often reverse expected power dynamics: Moro poses nude or in vulnerable positions while Liao directs, dresses and frames the scene. Humor and performance soften the critique, but the work remains pointed, questioning conventional representations of romantic and creative partnerships and the traditional split between artist and muse.
Liao, originally from Shanghai and now based in Tokyo, has described the project as a way to discover what kind of woman she wanted and could be. Moro has been a willing collaborator from the start, holding the remote shutter, co-directing some images and, over time, becoming so attuned to Liao’s vision that he often anticipates her desires. The photographs are not simply about a couple; they use the couple as a laboratory for thinking through power, desire and the terms of collaboration.
The exhibition frames the relationship as a site of experimentation and creative exchange. Soft sculptures and music videos extend the photographic work into three dimensions and time, while PIMO’s performances bring the duo’s musical collaboration into the gallery. On opening night, Liao and Moro will perform together as PIMO at 7:30 p.m., blurring the line between exhibition event and ongoing practice.
A Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of awards including the NYFA Fellowship in Photography and the Madame Figaro Women Photographers Award, Liao has exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, Fotografiska, Rencontres d’Arles, the Asia Society and the National Gallery of Australia. Relationship Material arrives at a moment when questions about partnership, labor and visibility feel especially urgent. By using photography to renegotiate those terms with wit and generosity, Liao offers a sustained and compelling investigation of contemporary relationships.
Image: How to build a relationship with layered meanings, 2008 © Pixy Liao
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