Ling Chen Kelley

Trustee

Following the passing of his mother, Hung Liu, in 2021, and his father, Jeff Kelley, in 2025, Ling Chen Kelley has joined the Hung Liu Estate. As a child, he witnessed firsthand his mother’s challenges in leaving China in the early 1980s and her long journey toward becoming one of the most prominent Chinese artists in the United States.

With twenty-five years of experience teaching Chinese and English language, literature, history, and culture, multiethnic studies, international studies, translation, business negotiation, and tourism at universities and high schools across New York, New Jersey, California, Alabama, Maryland, and Beijing—as well as two decades of Chinese-English simultaneous translation for artists, museums, and galleries—LC is committed to advancing Hung Liu’s artistic legacy, by working with museums, galleries, collectors, and community partners while contributing to academic conversations that explore history, hermeneutics, and scholarly research.

LC Kelley holds an MA in contemporary Chinese history from Tsinghua University in Beijing, with specialization in China-U.S. immigration relations, and brings a deep understanding of the symbolism and historical nuance embedded in his mother’s work.