ILLUSTRATED:
Liu Kuo-sung 60 Years of Paintings, Chan Liu Art Museum, Taoyuan, 2007, color illustrated, pp. 274-275

This painting is to be sold with a certificate of authenticity issued by Chan Liu Art Museum, Taoyuan.

After WWII, modernist painting began to take off in Taiwan, with many young and enthusiastic artists joining a new wave of creative expression. One of them was Liu Kuo-sung, who joinedthe Fifth Moon Group and, although coming from a background of Western-style painting, soon felt that he did not wish to be restricted to one particular school or style. Instead of focusing exclusively on Western techniques, he developed an interest in traditional Chinese culture and art, and made it his mission to promote the “modernization” of conventional ink and wash styles, mostly by blending Western elements into Eastern genres. Two parameters are cardinal to Liu’s work”: ink wash and abstractionism. Inventing new concepts such as “revolutionizing the brush (strokes)” and “revolutionizing the upright brush (strokes)” allowed him to experiment with new forms of expression and explore a variety of media, untrammeled by the limitations of conventional techniques. He developed new ways of employing traditional strokes and methods, such as the “cun” technique, to imbue his works with a fresh sense of structure and texture. His influence reached far beyond Taiwan’s art scene, making a powerful impact in Hong Kong (1970s) and the root of ink and wash paintings Mainland China (since 1980) as well.

Liu Kuo-sung has stayed invested in the research of, and intriguing experimentation with, ink wash painting throughout his entire life, developing four distinct techniques in the process: the “reductionist cun” technique (1960s), the “ink blot” or “steeped ink” technique (1961-63), the “ink rubbing” technique (1973), and the “water rubbing” technique (1973). Liu once said, “No new methods or techniques have been developed in Chinese painting since the Song Dynasty. I have come up with four different new types of ‘cun’ technique, all of which were born out of practical experimentation and application.” While the subjects of his paintings are largely taken from everyday life, Liu yet manages to infuse his works with a broad, even universal, perspective that probes deep into the fabric of nature and spirit. Starting out with concrete depictions of mountains and rivers, forests and rocks, he soon turned to abstract imagery that captures the solemn essence of such landscapes, and has won him global recognition from the academia, as well as the appreciation and support of collectors around the world.