Jian Liu

Since childhood, around the age of five or six, I developed a fondness for painting. As a youth, I pursued studies at Nanjing University of the Arts, and in my young adulthood, I furthered my education at Central Academy of Fine Arts. With over thirty years of engagement with painting and visual arts, I have transitioned from a representational approach focused on techniques to a realm combining imagery and surrealism. Nowadays, I am accustomed to simple compositions and sophisticated grayscale, finding inspiration and emotional resonance in the interplay of strokes, whether they depict reality or abstraction. Each stroke evokes sentiments, prompting reflections. Subject matter holds no significance, nor does size; my focus lies solely on maintaining a tranquil mind, immersed in the texture, light, shade, and strokes of the artwork, experiencing personal sensations and unraveling the genuine world beneath layers of technical mastery. At times poignant, at times silent, empathizing with humanity, I oscillate between the desire to express and the impulse to withhold. Great music has the faintest notes, Great form is beyond shape.

2002 Central Academy of Fine Arts
1997-2000 Nanjing University of the Arts