PROVENANCE:
A former collection of Yanan Hotel in Shanghai

LIU Haisu, given name Pan, style name Jifang, pseudonym Haiweng. Of Han ethnicity, Liu was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu. He was both an outstanding artist and an art educator. In his early years, Liu studied oil painting, and developed a majestic antiquity style. He also painted traditional Chinese painting, in which he showed his firm, determined brush strokes. He later focused on the splash-ink technique of painting, through which he displayed a forceful spirit through brush and ink. In his later years Liu used the splash color technique, expressing himself through vibrant and vigorous colors. Yellow Mountain, composed in 1988, is an important work of Mr. Liu’s. The layers of the work are clearly defined from bottom to top. The bottom part of the painting features a close-up view of mountains, with a large part of the painting composed of characteristic hues of bright blue and green. The mountain peak is lightly outlined in faint ink, then boldly splashed with ink to create a turbulent, misty piece which exudes a deep charm. Ink is splashed several times to create distinct layers.