Liu Guofu: born in Nanjing, China in 1964, graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Nanjing Institute of Arts in 1985. His oil paintings have been featured in numerous major exhibitions, including a notable group exhibition at Kunstraum Villa Friede in Bonn, Germany, in 2014. In 2011, he held a solo exhibition that toured the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum in Nanjing, Today Art Museum in Beijing, and the Shanghai Art Museum. The same year, he participated in the Parallel Exhibition at the 54th Venice Biennale. His paintings were widely collected by private and institutional collectors, such as MGM Chairman’s Collection (Macau), Shanghai Art Museum (Shanghai), Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum (Nanjing) as well as private collectors from U.K, France, Germany, Monaco, Switzerland, Dubai, India, U.S., Canada, Indonesia, and China.
Liu Guofu, Flower Z-6, 2024, Oil on paper, 76 x 106cm
From afar, the interplay of mystical shadowiness and linear light in the paintings creates an ineffable tension. Upon closer inspection, the oscillating musical rhythms conveyed by each stroke become apparent. The latest solo exhibition of Liu Guofu at 3812’s Hong Kong gallery, “Dusk Upon the Hush”, on view from 23 September to 29 November, offers an entrancing, multi-sensory experience. This marks Liu’s first solo exhibition dedicated to works on paper series with 3812 Gallery, an artistic extension from his quintessential oil on canvas oeuvre previously showcased there.
The exhibition is an inclusive one, showcasing 26 works on paper created between 2016 and 2024, which demonstrate Liu’s mastery on three varieties of paper works: ink and colour, oil, and oil pastel.
From canvas to paper, formality gives way to willful serendipity, and rigidity leaves room for dynamics. The “throw the paint at the paper to see how it sticks” approach that Liu adopts infuses his work with a sense of playful levity and controlled spontaneity. This flexibility, unfettered by gravitas, opens up a world of unbounded imagination and creative possibilities on the medium of paper.
Inspired by a poem by the Chinese Tang dynasty poet Wang Wei (699–759 A.D.), the exhibition title "Dusk upon the Hush" echoes the rhythmic and lyrical interplay of light and shadow in Liu's works. Set in a secluded forest where whispers are heard but untraceable, the poem concludes with an ethereal image of dusk light casting shadows on a bed of moss, evoking a sense of serene vitality.
The theme of integrating the philosophical wisdom rooted in Eastern culture with the free-wheeling artistic tempo of Western modern art, which has been a constant in Liu’s oil paintings, continues in his works on paper, now with some remarkable additions that deal a nuanced emotional punch through visceral stimuli.
Liu Guofu, Untitled Z-3, 2020, Oil pastel on paper, 108 x 79cm
In his paper works, Liu makes an artistic statement about his appreciation for Chinese art ingenuity and the Asian mastery of using the simplest and most basic medium to achieve profound artistic expression. One of the four great inventions by China, paper-making, enabling artists to express the subtleties of their craft and emotions with precision and depth. The monochrome brushstrokes in Liu’s works evoke the primitive ethos of Chinese ink paintings, meticulously applied yet allowing the pigments to run their own course, resulting in an expressive and dynamic rendering. Juxtaposed with it is the abstract and opaque romanticism often seen in western watercolour and other artistic influences.
When positioning oneself within his works, spectators might feel minute and insignificant within the grandeur of the landscape—whether it’s “Cold Mountain”, the Chi (Qi or energy flow) with light slicing through in “Flower”, or the desolation in his “Pervasion”. This immersive experience echoes the naturalism and selflessness celebrated in Chinese Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen Buddhism.
The interplay of shadow and light, the undefined forms, and the infinite extension of his brushstrokes collectively evoke a transient abstraction and audacity of expression reminiscent of Western modern art.
Just as the exhibition’s title “Dusk Upon the Hush” indicates, “capturing the fleeting nature of the human spirit” and “unveiling the divinity of nature and the joys and sorrows of life” are a recurring tenor across his art, says Liu. This speaks volumes about Liu’s versatility and prowess in pushing the envelope of medium and tools to articulate his artistic undertones with eloquence.
An aficionado of classical music, Liu draws inspirations from the art form, infusing his craft with the ebb and flow of rhythmic dynamics. His paintings sing with tell-tale musical climax and refrains, emanating a sense of lyricism.
All the potent visual, auditory and emotional sensations could be partly attributed to the unique techniques — particularly in foregrounding, blending and layering of colour of the works presented in this exhibition — and Liu’s sophisticated mastery of them. Unlike oil on canvas, blending on paper, especially with oil pastel, requires the use pf stumps and other unconventional tools, resulting in a less smooth and subtle but more abrasive and expressive voice, with the layer more tactile and visibly textured. In Liu’s “Pervasion” and “Blossoms” for instance, the distinctive blending and layering on the medium of paper render a state of tension, sometimes taut sometimes loose, akin to music notes advancing and receding. The strong gravitational tension, either vertical or horizontal, manages to engulf the viewers in the drama and stillness, drama and contemplation. The finished works serve as a vehicle for self-introspection, endorsed by both Eastern and Western ideologies.
“In my art, I aim to evoke spirituality and a ‘ceremonial sense’ that transports viewers to a place of peace and introspection. Inspired by Zhuangzi’s (Chuang-Tzu, 369—298 B.C.E.) philosophy, I believe art transcends mortal boundaries and reflects the human spirit,” says Liu of his artistic conceit. “Amidst the conflicts of our world, I emphasise the need for calmness and a peaceful state of mind to expand our understanding. While it’s challenging to achieve, I strive to manifest this state of tranquility through my art, inviting viewers to reflect on life's complexities and find solace in their contemplation.”