PRINTEXHIBITED:
Unexpected, Illusion, Change – Liu Kuo-sung Painting Collections , Capital Art Center, Taipei, 2008
ILLUSTRATED:
Unexpected, Illusion, Change – Liu Kuo-sung Painting Collections , Capital Art Center, Taipei, 2008, color illustrated, p. 22
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New Creation
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1966 Ink and color on paper 58.2 x 87.2 cm Signed lower left Liu Kuo-sung and dated 1966 both in Chinese |
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Estimate
700,000 - 1,100,000 2,834,000 - 4,453,000 90,300 - 141,800
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Sold Price
960,000 3,840,000 123,871
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EXHIBITED:
Unexpected, Illusion, Change – Liu Kuo-sung Painting Collections , Capital Art Center, Taipei, 2008
ILLUSTRATED:
Unexpected, Illusion, Change – Liu Kuo-sung Painting Collections , Capital Art Center, Taipei, 2008, color illustrated, p. 22
Catalogue Note:
While striving to maintain a traditional Chinese aesthetic sensibility and to have his work grounded on the foundations of classical Chinese philosophy, Liu Kuo-sung engaged in wholesale innovation in terms of the artistic lexicon of ink brush painting and the implements and materials used, and in doing so played a leading role in the emergence of modern ink brush painting.
The 1960s were a major turning point for Liu Kuo-sung, in which he began to move away from purely Western forms and aesthetics towards a greater understanding of the inner meaning of East Asian art. Liu’s bold experimentation with new materials during this period produced outstanding achievements that surprised even the artist himself. Liu used specially-made rice paper that contained bagasse (sugar-cane residue), on which he applied color using a flat brush composed of multiple individual brushes attached together, before adding abstract symbols using fierce, rapid strokes of a dry brush with thick, dark ink. The smooth, crisp lines were accomplished with a single brushstroke. Liu would then unpick some of the strands of the paper to expose the paper’s white texture, after which he would add the finishing touches using a wet brush; with freeflowing brushstrokes reminiscent of the cursive script in calligraphy, Liu was able to create a richly layered effect. The effectiveness of this technique can be seen in works such as “New Creation”. This painting has a marvelous simplicity and sense of balance; the transition from luminous yellow to greenish-black creates a mystical effect reminiscent of the dim light inside a forest. The wild strokes of the wet brush have created a black that is as simple and striking as a mountain peak, while the work as a whole embodies the essence of the East Asian aesthetic tradition.
The 1960s were a major turning point for Liu Kuo-sung, in which he began to move away from purely Western forms and aesthetics towards a greater understanding of the inner meaning of East Asian art. Liu’s bold experimentation with new materials during this period produced outstanding achievements that surprised even the artist himself. Liu used specially-made rice paper that contained bagasse (sugar-cane residue), on which he applied color using a flat brush composed of multiple individual brushes attached together, before adding abstract symbols using fierce, rapid strokes of a dry brush with thick, dark ink. The smooth, crisp lines were accomplished with a single brushstroke. Liu would then unpick some of the strands of the paper to expose the paper’s white texture, after which he would add the finishing touches using a wet brush; with freeflowing brushstrokes reminiscent of the cursive script in calligraphy, Liu was able to create a richly layered effect. The effectiveness of this technique can be seen in works such as “New Creation”. This painting has a marvelous simplicity and sense of balance; the transition from luminous yellow to greenish-black creates a mystical effect reminiscent of the dim light inside a forest. The wild strokes of the wet brush have created a black that is as simple and striking as a mountain peak, while the work as a whole embodies the essence of the East Asian aesthetic tradition.