Lot Essay
Liu Kuo-sung arranged for this painting to be donated to China Institute in America in New York for a fund-raising auction, where it was acquired by the current owner, circa 2006.
Liu Kuo-sung, a native of Shandong, settled in Taiwan in 1949. At the age of 20 Liu shifted his studies to Western painting and later co-founded the Fifth Moon Group 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 taught at numerous institutions, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Ohio, and National Taiwan Normal University.
Considered the “father of Chinese modern ink” in Taiwan, Liu received numerous awards for his contribution to art development in Greater China. He constantly introduces new techniques and materials in his works- from techniques such a collage, paper tearing, ink rubbing, and steeping ink between two pieces of paper. 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.
Two of Liu Kuo-sung’s most recent solo exhibitions were held in the National Museum of History, Taipei (2014) and the Shandong Museum (2013). His works are part of the permanent collections of the Palace Museum, Beijing; the British Museum; and the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; among many others.
Liu Kuo-sung, a native of Shandong, settled in Taiwan in 1949. At the age of 20 Liu shifted his studies to Western painting and later co-founded the Fifth Moon Group 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 taught at numerous institutions, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Ohio, and National Taiwan Normal University.
Considered the “father of Chinese modern ink” in Taiwan, Liu received numerous awards for his contribution to art development in Greater China. He constantly introduces new techniques and materials in his works- from techniques such a collage, paper tearing, ink rubbing, and steeping ink between two pieces of paper. 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.
Two of Liu Kuo-sung’s most recent solo exhibitions were held in the National Museum of History, Taipei (2014) and the Shandong Museum (2013). His works are part of the permanent collections of the Palace Museum, Beijing; the British Museum; and the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; among many others.