LIU YE (B. 1964)

Following the Cultural Revolution that ended in 1976, artists in China were obligated to produce works that were bereft of self-expression and rather centered on the reformative social and political matters of the time. Liu Ye, however, defied the norm and adopted a style that was unlike that of any of his contemporaries. After training in industrial design and mural painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, Liu moved to Berlin to receive his MFA at the Hochschule der Kunst. He then moved to Amsterdam, where he was inspired by the abstract aesthetic of artists such as Piet Mondrian, as well as by Dick Bruna, the creator of the Dutch cartoon character Miffy. From his extensive exposure to Western art, he gradually developed his distinctive style that is defined by a facade of simplistic, childlike innocence that veils his complex inner emotions and criticism towards the transformations in the society. Liu once noted, “Complexity and richness can be described in simple and concise language, which is the direction of my work. The exploration of human emotions has always been the subject of my interest”. As depicted in the lot Chorus of Angels, Liu’s works after the 2000s was largely marked by theatre scenes featuring young female subjects. Using vivid hues of color, Liu executes the Chinese subjects into cartoon-ish doll-like figures commonly seen in Western fairy tales, blurring the barrier between the East and the West.