Anson Liaw Illustration

Anson Liaw Illustration Anson Liaw is an illustrator and fine artist creating works that take on critical views about contemporary life and the world around us.

His work specifically deals with social, political, cultural issues and lifestyle subject matters. American-Canadian illustrator and fine artist Anson Liaw has established a distinguished career at the crossroads of design, communication, and fine art. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art, now OCAD University, Liaw's illustrations have appeared in major international publications, including Time Magazine, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as in campaigns for McDonald's and the National Ballet of Canada. His work has been exhibited widely in invitational shows around the world and recognized by leading organizations such as American Illustration, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, and Hiii Illustration International Awards. Liaw's illustrations are notable for their ability to fuse the familiar with the unexpected, creating visual metaphors that provoke recognition and reflection. His practice embraces cultural, political, and social concerns, delivering images that operate both as art and as incisive commentary. In addition to his prolific professional career, Liaw served as an instructor at OCAD University, where he mentored the next generation of artists and designers. His contributions affirm the power of illustration as a medium of thought, empathy, and dialogue in contemporary visual culture. Beyond his professional work as an illustrator, fine artist and OCAD University Faculty of Design instructor, Anson Liaw also has a love and passion for working as a Referee for the sport of ball hockey for the Ontario Ball Hockey Federation (OBHF) in Canada where he is deeply humbled and honoured to be awarded by the Board of Directors and all members of the Ontario Ball Hockey Federation (OBHF) to receive the OBHF 2024 Referee of the Year Award which was awarded to an individual who has excelled at every level of Ball Hockey Refereeing in 2024. Artist Statement

“I feel I am useless as an artist when I am happy. Pain is what creates my artwork. The painful experiences that people go through as they journey through life in the world around us, from childhood to adulthood, which in many ways is full of chaos and hardship, are what spark and motivate me to achieve my objectives in creating purposeful artwork that hopefully generates meaningful and fulfilling empathetic connections with people. As I observe and interpret the world around me, combined with creating my artwork, I discover time and time again that true beauty lies within the darkness and that sometimes nightmares are the birthplace of some of the best ideas for an artist.”

- Anson Liaw


ANSON LIAW, AOCAD, Illustrator Artist

[email protected]

+1 416-738-8896


Illustration portfolio websites:

http://www.illoz.com/liaw
https://liaw-anson.format.com



Retroavangarda Gallery of Friends exhibition:

https://retroavangarda.com/gallery-of-friends/albums/Anson_Liaw/?fbclid=IwAR2eDQsOrdgwt0uzlHnHPIRWWvXGiofk5OyBKw8YtAZVyPKZNuqYgFSpcLk



NYART NEWS / Art Dealer Street, Navigating Today’s Art, Shaping Tomorrow’s Culture
From NYC to the World

Anson Liaw – Pronounced Lines, Profound Visions by Faiq Imran:

https://www.artdealerstreet.com/single-post/anson-liaw-pronounced-lines-profound-visions



Circle Foundation for the Arts Featured Artist:


https://circle-arts.com/anson-liaw



Contemporary Art Curator Magazine interviews:

https://www.contemporaryartcuratormagazine.com/home-2/interview-with-anson-liaw?rq=Anson
https://www.contemporaryartcuratormagazine.com/home-2/anson-liaw

I am very pleasantly surprised, pleased and honoured to discover that my illustration work has been selected by the Jury...
10/09/2026

I am very pleasantly surprised, pleased and honoured to discover that my illustration work has been selected by the Jury members for inclusion for exhibition in the 2026 Peru Biennial / Bienal for their International Open Call for applications within their International Open Call Illustrations section/category.

An update posted and shared by Peru Biennial / Peru Bienal:

The Presidency, Advisory Committees, and Selection Committees of Peru Bienal are pleased to announce the list of selected artists and creators for our Main Exhibition across the following disciplines: Fine Arts, Applied Arts, Visual Communication and Graphic Design, and Experience Design and Technologies.

As part of our International Open Call, artists and creators from around the world participated in this process, with submissions received from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. We received a total of 52,256 submissions across our 15 participation categories, from which 650 projects by 600 artists were selected to be part of the 2026 edition.

Below is the link to review the list of selected artists and creators.

https://perubienal.com/en/2026pb/

I am very delighted and honoured to be invited to participate as an Illustrator to submit works for the 3rd Balıkesir Un...
09/29/2026

I am very delighted and honoured to be invited to participate as an Illustrator to submit works for the 3rd Balıkesir University International Illustration Biennial 2026 in Türkiye. 🇹🇷

3rd BALIKESIR UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL ILLUSTRATION BIENNIAL

Theme:

"From Reality to Memory, From Memory to Image"

Illustration is a field of visual expression that not only depicts the visible world but also interprets, transforms, and re-signifies it. In this respect, every image creates a transitional space between reality and imagination, experience and memory, and what is lived and what is remembered. In the first edition of the Balikesir University International Illustration Biennial, the theme "The Subject's View, the Object's Gaze" focused on the subjective nature of looking and perception; the second edition, under the title "Existing Reality, Constructed World", questioned how reality could be reconstructed through illustration. The third biennial aims to take this line of thought one step further with the theme "From Reality to Memory, From Memory to Image."

The theme for the third edition of the Balıkesir University International Illustration Biennial explores the transformation of lived reality into memory over time and how experiences reshape in memory become visible through images. Reality does not remain in memory as it was; it is selected, altered, reduced, expanded, and reconstructed. Illustration, as the visual counterpart of this transformation, turns the traces of individual and collective memory into new narratives. "From Reality to Memory, From Memory to Image" invited artists to consider not only what is seen or how something is constructed, but also what is remembered, what is forgotten, and how what is remembered is transformed into an image. In this way, the biennial opens up a broad field of visual narrative by exploring the space of transformation between reality, memory, and image - from personal memories to collective memory, from cultural heritage to digital memory.

Event Dates and Venue

Last Submission: November 15, 2026

Exhibition Dates: December 10 - 30, 2026

Exhibition Venue: Balikesir University Faculty of Fine Arts Gallery

https://baunillustrationbi.wixsite.com/my-site-1

Thank you very much to my friend and Designer-Artist, Hadir Meckawy for sending me her kind invitation. 🤗🫶🙏

A commentary illustration about how some people may experience an increase in the severity of their symptoms. Others may...
09/11/2026

A commentary illustration about how some people may experience an increase in the severity of their symptoms. Others may experience increased feelings of isolation. hopelessness, and emptiness at night.

Nighttime depression may also create or worsen insomnia, keeping you awake longer or making it more difficult to fall asleep.

Title: Depression at Night: Coping with Nighttime Depression (version 2)

Illustration by Anson Liaw

An illustration created for graphic designers and art & design professors, Noor Udin Ung, Taufiq Annas and the Sewunara ...
09/08/2026

An illustration created for graphic designers and art & design professors, Noor Udin Ung, Taufiq Annas and the Sewunara Committee at Visual Communications Design, School of Design at BINUS University's Semarang Campus for the SEWUNARA 2026 Semarang International Art & Design Festival.

SEWUNARA 2026 Semarang International Art & Design Festival
September 24, 2026 – October 10, 2026,
Binus Immersive Gallery, Binus University Semarang

Some thoughts shared about the SEWUNARA 2026 Semarang International Art & Design Festival by the organizers:

We deeply admire your dedication, vision, and continuous contributions to shaping the landscape of global design. Your work not only pushes creative boundaries but also inspires communities, cultures, and future generations. In celebration of this creative spirit, we are honored to invite you to submit your finest work to SEWUNARA 2026 Semarang International Art & Design Festival. Derived from sewu (a thousand) and narasi (narrative), SEWUNARA is a space where a thousand stories meet to spark new possibilities. Under the theme “City of Tomorrow”, we invite designers, artists, and visionaries from around the world to reimagine future cities—built through collaboration, empathy, creativity, and human values.

Theme: City of Tomorrow

Sub-Themes:

Urban Harmony
Green City, Living City
Heritage Forward
Human Scale
The Street as Canvas
Digital Harmony

This illustration created for the "City of Tomorrow" themed SEWUNARA: Semarang International Art & Design Festival 2026, focuses on the festival's Green City, Living City sub-theme idea features future city planners, designers, developers and builders and people in society in general being cognizant of the responsible careful use and creation of materials and products used and produced in daily life with environmental safety and health in mind combined with all around consistent careful collaborative green thinking with all living things within the entire environment concerned in action and within outdoor and indoor workplace and home settings.

Title: Responsible Green City, Living City

Illustration by
Anson Liaw
Anson Liaw Illustration

Thank you very much, Noor Udin Ung, Taufiq Annas and the Sewunara Committee members at the Visual Communication Design, School of Design, BINUS University Semarang Campus in Indonesia for sending me their kind invitation! 🤗🫶🙏

An illustration created about a bookless future, which is a chilling horror concept where physical literature vanishes, ...
08/27/2026

An illustration created about a bookless future, which is a chilling horror concept where physical literature vanishes, replaced by total digital control, automated AI data-stripping, or the complete loss of shared human memory and history.

Title: The Horror of a Bookless Future (version 1)

Illustration by
Anson Liaw
Anson Liaw Illustration


https://www.instagram.com/p/DciCybJRI1z/?igsi=MXE1cWozb2ZtajU3ZQ==

An illustration created about a bookless future, which is a chilling horror concept where physical literature vanishes, ...
08/27/2026

An illustration created about a bookless future, which is a chilling horror concept where physical literature vanishes, replaced by total digital control, automated AI data-stripping, or the complete loss of shared human memory and history.

Title: The Horror of a Bookless Future (version 2)

Illustration by
Anson Liaw
Anson Liaw Illustration


https://www.instagram.com/p/DciCybJRI1z/?igsi=MXE1cWozb2ZtajU3ZQ==

Title: Hopelessly Devoted to You (version 5)Illustration by Anson Liaw Anson Liaw Illustration ...
06/10/2026

Title: Hopelessly Devoted to You (version 5)

Illustration by
Anson Liaw
Anson Liaw Illustration

Title: Hopelessly Devoted to You (version 4)Illustration by Anson Liaw Anson Liaw Illustration ...
06/09/2026

Title: Hopelessly Devoted to You (version 4)

Illustration by
Anson Liaw
Anson Liaw Illustration

Title: Hopelessly Devoted to You (version 2)Illustration by Anson Liaw Anson Liaw Illustration ...
06/02/2026

Title: Hopelessly Devoted to You (version 2)

Illustration by
Anson Liaw
Anson Liaw Illustration

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Toronto, ON

Telephone

+14167388896

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