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Lot Essay
Born in Shandong, China, Liu Kuo-sung settled in Taiwan in 1949 and is considered a pioneer of contemporary Chinese ink movement. At the age of 20, he focused his studies on Western painting and later co-founded the Fifth Moon Group in Taiwan to promote Chinese contemporary art with a Western perspective. By 1961, Liu refocused his energies on the ink and brush genre, which allowed him to better express his own culture. Liu has taught at numerous institutions, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Ohio, and National Taiwan Normal University. Liu has received numerous awards for his contribution to art development in Greater China.
Liu constantly introduces experimental techniques and materials in his works to revolutionise ink painting, from techniques such as collage, paper tearing, ink rubbing, and steeping ink between two pieces of paper. Executed in 1971, Moon’s Metamorphosis I is a remarkable example of Liu’s Space series that he begun in 1968 when the artist was residing in the United States. Inspired by astronaut William Anders’ photograph Earthrise which was taken on the Apollo 8 Mission, Liu attempts to showcase the full moon shining above the earth with broad, abstract brushstrokes representing the landmasses and oceans of the Earth.
Liu expresses the unpredictability of ink and paper reacting with each other, resulting in his many series of ethereal abstract and landscape paintings over the past six decades. At a time when many of his contemporaries employed only ink and rice paper to reflect the traditions of the classical past, Liu Kuo-sung revolutionised his landscape works through the use of vibrant colours and new techniques.
Liu constantly introduces experimental techniques and materials in his works to revolutionise ink painting, from techniques such as collage, paper tearing, ink rubbing, and steeping ink between two pieces of paper. Executed in 1971, Moon’s Metamorphosis I is a remarkable example of Liu’s Space series that he begun in 1968 when the artist was residing in the United States. Inspired by astronaut William Anders’ photograph Earthrise which was taken on the Apollo 8 Mission, Liu attempts to showcase the full moon shining above the earth with broad, abstract brushstrokes representing the landmasses and oceans of the Earth.
Liu expresses the unpredictability of ink and paper reacting with each other, resulting in his many series of ethereal abstract and landscape paintings over the past six decades. At a time when many of his contemporaries employed only ink and rice paper to reflect the traditions of the classical past, Liu Kuo-sung revolutionised his landscape works through the use of vibrant colours and new techniques.