Comments before Liu’s Solo Show

Brother Liu's transparent acrylic cigarette holder seems eternally in use, and his bright orange jacket, suitable for all seasons, gives this otherwise ordinary university teacher quite a distinct character.

I first started seeing him frequently at various exhibition events, and occasionally, his works were also featured in these shows. Gradually, I became familiar with both him and his paintings. His works are quite engaging, typically possessing a strong sense of craftsmanship and a refined style, yet they also seem to contain some hard-to-decipher abstract elements and puzzling painting techniques. Because of my fondness for and curiosity about these elements and methods, I've consistently followed his new creations, always anticipating the different feelings his new works might evoke.

As we knew each other longer, our conversations became less formal. Although he's much older than me, I often chatted casually with him, disregarding the age gap. Our discussions almost exclusively revolved around painting and art; we rarely touched upon other subjects. Once, at his home, I saw rooms piled high with his paintings and numerous sketches. Creative work seemed to consume nearly all his time outside of daily life and his job.

Influenced by his family, Brother Liu had a strong foundation in traditional Chinese painting (Guohua) from childhood. As he grew older and delved deeper into Western art, particularly mixed media and contemporary forms, he became increasingly perplexed by the relationship between traditional Chinese painting and contemporary art. It felt as though an invisible barrier stood between them: one side valuing millennia of heritage, the other demanding the subversion of norms. They seemed irreconcilable. Of course, he wasn't positioning himself to achieve the grand synthesis of Eastern and Western art; rather, he was trying to resolve the coordination of these two distinct artistic philosophies within his own mind. He experimented with using acrylics to achieve ink wash effects, finding some success. He also attempted purely contemporary expressions, completely setting aside traditional elements. Yet, it seemed the traditional influences, deeply ingrained in him (as if melted into his blood), couldn't be entirely eliminated at will. It was through such repeated experimentation that I witnessed the works emerging from his ongoing exploration.

One day, Brother Liu sent me images of his latest work via WeChat. Since the style appeared hazy and lacked detail, I decided to visit his home studio directly. This was hardly just a painting studio; airbrushes, branches, screens, and ropes filled the room—it was practically a laboratory! It turned out he had created several paintings with a bamboo shadow effect using a combination of airbrushing and drawing methods. The results were impressive, seamlessly blending Eastern and Western elements into a cohesive whole. Unexpectedly, after much experimentation and revision (lit. "messing around and changing"), he had truly found a direction. He then worked prolifically (lit. "with a flourish of the brush"), producing a series of entirely new works in a short period.

While the initial creation was swift, the refinement process proved painstaking. Revising and reworking these paintings took over a year; many pieces were reworked several times (lit. "returned to the furnace"), and ideas were overturned repeatedly before he finally achieved a result he was satisfied with.

Finally, these works are being brought together for an exhibition. Brother Liu can at last feel a sense of closure and accomplishment regarding this creative journey (lit. "give himself an account").

Text / Fang Wenjie