197 Liu Zijian (1956-)
Abstract Ink Painting
1995
ink on paper
95 x 180 cm
China International Exhibition Agency
Liu Zijian graduated from Hubei College of Fine
Arts in 1983, where he taught Chinese painting between 1983 and 1995. His
recent ink paintings, like this, create abstract patterns in black and white
of various fragmented industrial materials. Pure abstraction is foreign
to the Chinese tradition, but Liu Zijian's masterful control of the tones
of his ink come from his guohua training, and permit him to achieve
rich effects from a minimalistic medium. Liu Zijian, like other artists
of his generation, seeks both imagery and formats that are cosmopolitan.