Liu Yonggang’s Paintings and Sculptures

Mr. Shui Tianzhong, Researcher of Chinese Academy of Art, former director of Graduate School of Fine Arts, renowned critic of fine arts　　All artists in China may not be familiar with Liu Yonggang, but the mention of one of his oil paintings will ring a bell—Shepherdess of Northern Sala. Painted in 1987, it was shown at several important exhibitions, and left us with a deep impression. In the late 1980s it was a fashion to find subjects and inspiration in the rural life, and many good works appeared as the result of that. Most of them struck us with their reserved simplicity and serenity, but Shepherdess of Northern Sala was not of that kind. What was fascinating about it was the expressionist depiction of the simple yet splendid youth of the prairie. The meadow in red, black and white, the sheep flock, and girl and the paddock conveyed the inexhaustible vitality of an old culture on an old land. That was why the painting distinguished itself from so many innovative works. 　　In the early 1990s Liu went to Germany as a student. His education at Nuremburg Art Academy and exchanges with contemporary German artists inspired his artistic innovation, which started with reflections on culture. His works—the Fish series in 1993 and the Cross series in 1994, the Embrace of Love series in 1999-2006, and the group sculpture named Spatial Calligraphy—indicate his in-depth thinking of his native culture and his masterly use of contemporary techniques of the plastic art. The Fish series was the result of his study of the basic shape-color structure of concrete painting. The use of light and darkness, colors and compositional elements lends a monument-like solemnity to the simple head, tail and other parts of the fish. Obviously, that had a great influence on his later works, in which he tried to construct grandness with simplicity. The Fish series was closely followed by the Cross series. The cross, apparently still simpler than the fish, carries deeper cultural and spiritual meanings. It stands for the human body, the cross on which Jesus was crucified, and the history of mankind that contains disasters and glories. To move on to the exploration of the formal meaning of the written language was a natural step to take. In my opinion, the series of abstract paintings named Embrace of Love were created in preparation for Spatial Calligraphy or as the result of remaining creative drive. 　　Spatial Calligraphy, a large work consisting of about a hundred stone sculptures, was created by using Chinese characters as a creative resource. As indicated by the title, the idea came from ancient written languages. He was inspired by Chinese characters and Basiba (in 1244, Basiba, hierarch of Sasijia Cult of Tibetan Buddhism, was made Imperial Advisor by Kublai Khan. In 1296, by imperial orders, he created a written language for the imperial court of the Yuan Dynasty. Known as Basiba, the language is found on Yuan seal and steles), sensing a special visual effect from their forms. 　　In terms of the traditional culture, calligraphy is of course the origin of the artistic rendering of Chinese characters. The use of characters in calligraphy is comprehensive, stressing not only the images of individual characters, but also the relationship between them, the use of the brush to convey power and charm, and varied calligraphic styles. Since the beginning of the 20th century, many artists, both Chinese and foreign, have got inspiration for painting from calligraphy. 　　In late 1970s, several painters in Taiwan worked with similar ideas, the most representative being Chen Zhengxiong and Li Xiqi. They incorporated traditional calligraphy into abstract painting. The idea was to combine the running hand style, with its flowing sense of movement, with the modern color composition. The harsh contrast between colors could be made livelier by the introduction of the dynamic lines of calligraphy. Their works were favored by many overseas collectors, who used them to decorate their houses or public places. The artists thought it a new approach to developing abstract art in the East. A short time ago NAMOC held the exhibition of abstract paintings by Tian Wei, an American Chinese painter. Like some Taiwan painters, he used Chinese and western languages as a decorative element. But in addition to that, he explored the common ground in form between Chinese and western written languages. He rendered written signs with thick colors and calligraphic use of the brush. That was not what those Taiwan painters did, who treated the nuances between lightness and darkness of strokes on colored planes. But Tian Wei processed the signs with the texture of exaggeratedly thick layers of colors. He combined simple, black signs with brilliant colors, writing alphabetic words as if they were hieroglyphic characters. That was obviously a step further. 　　In the late 20th century, such Chinese artists as Xu Bing and Gu Wenda won worldwide reputation with the frequent use of Chinese characters in their works of postmodernism. Many painters in China are introducing calligraphic styles into painting, or vise versa. For instance, Qi Haiping incorporated the harmony and vigor of calligraphy, while Li Xiangming ‘enlivened’ abstract painting with the rhythm of the running hand style. Qiu Zhenzhong and Zeng Laide did the opposite, bringing calligraphy closer to painting. It should be acknowledged that contemporary Chinese artists outshine their progenitors in the use and development of Chinese characters for artistic creation, in the appearance and cultural atmosphere of their works, and in their understanding of cultural taste and temperament. According to calligraphic theorist Qiu Zhenzhong, one of the differences between modern calligraphy and traditional calligraphy is the change from ‘the art of characters’ to ‘the art of lines’. Calligraphic aesthetics developed in three stages, from characters to calligraphy, and then to writing. 　　What is special about Liu Yonggang is that he returned to the written language itself, focusing on the basic structures of characters, the juxtaposition of individual strokes, and the visual and spiritual associations of those structures. Those are formal features that are closest to the origin and essence of Chinese characters. Liu’s efforts to return to simplicity and to trace the origin are worth paying attention to and studying. 　　The basic formal structure of Embrace of Love is based on the composition of the strokes of one or two characters. I find it mainly based on the structures of dazhuan and xiaozhuan—the crossing and connecting of simple, vigorous lines that embrace each other and maintain perfect balance. Liu used the idea of embracing to expound people’s attraction, trust, love and procreation. Because of the writing tools and writing materials, the lines of Chinese characters are by nature endowed with a flowing, vigorous and mellow beauty. That kind of beauty could be fully conveyed in calligraphic works written on paper or silk. But if it was stressed in a sculpture using hard material, it would cause the latter to appear weak and floppy. Obviously, the ‘nature’ of the lines of characters should be different from that in calligraphy. 　　Liu’s solution was to give prominence to the strength of lines. He made each stroke (line) a geometric form with sharp corners and edges, with the start of each line having a strikingly flat, stubborn-looking rectangular surface. That gave Embrace of Love vigor and vitality. As for the general composition, apart from using spaces to connect the inside and outside of the signs, his skillful use of the compositional feature of ancient characters, with crossing, dense strokes in the upper part and a more spacious lower part, makes them look like standing human figures. Viewers may experience a surging sense of history when they look up to it against a backdrop of the sky at dawn or dusk. 　　I am interested in how the work will be displayed. A sculpture like Liu’s Embrace of Love will produce different atmospheres and effects in different surroundings. We may think about where to put it—a busy square in a city, a ruins, a desert, a spoiled pasture in Inner Mongolia, a place with lush grass, flowers and flowing water, and so on. The same work will definitely produce different feelings and associations when put in different places. 　　Whether at home or abroad, where and how to place Embrace of Love need careful thinking, trying and comparison. Each one of the sculptures is imposing and exquisite, indicating great efforts. To put them separately or to arrange them in rows is a question to think over. To choose the latter may eclipse the form and power of individual works, though it may produce a general imposing effect. I believe that the author will find an ideal answer. All great artistic creations are capable of linking history to future, and nature to culture. This is true of the pyramids, the sculptures on Easter Island, and the Great Wall. Liu Yonggang’s written-language-based group sculpture, standing erect with monument-like pride, will go a long way to add cultural weight and formal power to Chinese sculpture, and remind us of those great creations. Spring equinox, 2007