Liu Xiaodong
Artworks from Liu Xiaodong seamlessly incorporates the simplicity of mundane human lives with the complexity of political atmospheres. He is one of the few Chinese painters who have taken confrontational approaches against current political issues and portrays truth in the most equitable manner. His meticulous brushstrokes, realistic representation of subjects, and muted color tones all play in to show concern and empathy for those affected by modernization in a globalized world.
Early Life and Influences
Born in a small town located in the Liaoning province, Liu moved to Beijing at the age of 17 in order to pursue his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He continued his studies in the Central Academy and graduated with a Master’s degree in oil painting in 1995.
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During his time as a student, Liu became to be known as an emerging figure for Neo-Realist painters in China. His canvas was dominated with figurative paintings featuring precisely drawn subjects with loose and nonchalant brushstrokes. This form of painting marks Liu’s oeuvre and adheres to his belief of ‘see(ing) people as they really are.’
In 1990, Liu starred in a documentary film with the Chinese Independent Film Movement where he acted in the lead role alongside his wife. The movie titled The Days was directed by a prominent Chinese art director called Wang Xiaoshuai. Liu and his wife played two debauched artists whose marriage was slowly beginning to fade away. The movie was later considered as one of the top 100 most international films in the 20th century according to BBC.
After Liu had graduated, he began associating with a group of artists who were named China’s ‘New Generation’. Liu’s painting during this time connotated with the art techniques he had been taught at university. Socialist Realism, a style which was prescribed by the government in Chinese art studies was a propagandic take on art to influence Chinese culture but Liu relinquished all elements of government indoctrination. Instead, he developed his own unique style from his learnings, one which was reciprocated by the ‘New Generation’ of Neo-Realist painters.
One of Liu’s greatest artistic influences is the eminent British painter, Lucian Freud. Most of Liu’s artwork emulates Freud’s technique to a certain extent, but the general quality produced in Liu’s canvas is entirely his own creation.
Filmography and Painting
Liu has participated in art through both the mediums of painting and filmography. He has been involved in the making of more than 20 films internationally, collaborating with well-known directors in globally recognized movies such as the 2006 movie titled ‘Dong’ by Jia Zhangke and the 2010 film titled Hometown Boy by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien. He was also featured in Yang Bo’s 2018 documentary called ‘On the Riverbanks of Berlin’.
Liu has used LGBTQ references and themes in a variety of his artwork and filmography. The film with Yang Bo displayed a painting he had formerly done which showed a gay person and a transgender person. The documentary aimed to show their lives in Berlin. Liu had previous works pertaining to homosexual identities and themes, where his art collection titled Transgender/Gay showed portraits of a transgender woman called Sasha Maria. These paintings were later featured in his Düsseldorf retrospective.
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When talking about what interested Liu to touch on the subject of homosexuality and transgenderism, Liu replied simply that he wanted to ‘paint something with a connection to the city.’ He also adds, ‘I don’t really think about the political context. I try to look at local cultures, but not as a tourist. It is a way to understand each place’s local life, a way to enter its society.’
This idea of showing people in their normal lives, associating with them as they are in their natural habitats is something that has remained consistent in Liu’s paintings. He tends to take snapshots of his subjects in the environments that they are most comfortable in. He sets up domestic spaces that are uninterrupted and soothing, allowing his subjects to relax and show their humane sides. Through these measures, Liu draws portraits of ordinary people in ordinary settings. In an interview, he remarks, ‘I only go into other people’s lives to experience them… I don’t want to summarise, I don’t want to make a political stance. I want to just faithfully reproduce other people’s lives.’
Liu’s Brushstrokes
A noticeable quality of Liu’s paintings is the limited degree to which photo-realism is used. His subjects are given clean and modestly realistic outlines but they are drawn with thick and strong brushstrokes that emphasize their natures. This is a technique used by Freud as well, one of Liu’s greatest art influencers. It is also the technique Liu had mastered during his years at university.
His 2012 Hotan Project is one that has marked his career and artistic personality. It shows scenes from a mining region in the Xinjiang Province while a subsequent series depicts life in politically devasted areas such as the Israeli-Palestinian war zones. He also features the private lives of sex workers and farmers.
His painting, Weight of Insomnia was another popular piece. It was depicted video feed which showed images from a security camera in blue paint. The feed displays human movement and traces human behavior which is documented by a mechanized being. Through this work, Liu aimed to highlight the modern age in which humans and robots co-inhabit and reciprocate with each other.
Liu Xiaodong in Current Times
While Liu currently lives in Beijing, he has moved and lived around in places such as Tibet, Japan, Italy, the UK, and so on. He has taken a variety of art projects and even teaches as a professor in the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where he had initially received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. His work has been exhibited both internationally and nationally, while his art retrospective was curated in Düsseldorf, Germany in 2016.
Liu’s work is a humble recognition of normal life, depicting people in settings that are familiar and comforting. He works as a storyteller and through his art, turns normality into something that is significant enough to capture and paint. ‘When I paint someone, I want to capture their environment, their living state,’ Liu says, ‘I want to show the personal story behind the image of the person.’