Coming and Going

Liu Ye's paintings exemplify the investigation and realisation of aesthetics, harmony, and poetry in visual art. Coming and Going (Lot 269) thoroughly expresses his personal artistic language. It is a manifestation of dramatic narratives, as well as a response to the purity of spirit of the De Stijl movement. Although viewers cannot determine the reasons and consequences behind the characters' arrival and departure in Coming and Going, they cannot help but empathise with the sense of anguish and helplessness that are associated with parting ways. Liu Ye deliberately places the characters in two separate pictures, which are both close together yet far apart— a metaphor for the severance of their relationship. However, the figures are inextricably connected with one another through the way the artist chooses to present their story as a diptych. A heightened sense of tension within this dilemma is achieved through visual cues and an intellectual understanding of the situation. Even though departures and arrivals always trigger a sense of melancholy, Liu Ye's pictorial treatment remains as rational and dispassionate as always. The two characters are positioned at the centre of each panel— each exuding a definitively established sense of balance. The hat of the man, the suitcases that he carries, the hair of the woman, and her coat are all delineated clearly, further that emphasising the stability of their triangular forms. Liu Ye takes this additional step, employing visual vocabulary to eliminate any sense of emotional turmoil that is evoked by the subject matter. The horizon-line in the background conveys a stillness that silently ties together these minute details in Liu Ye's meticulously calculated and geometric world.