Liu Ye (simplified Chinese: 刘野; traditional Chinese: 劉野; pinyin: Liú Yě; born in 1964) is a Beijing-based contemporary Chinese painter known for his bright-hued paintings of childlike female figures, his favourite cartoon character, Dick Bruna's Miffy, and works inspired by Piet Mondrian. Liu Ye is part of a generation of artists who grew up during the Cultural Revolution. However, unlike most acclaimed Chinese contemporary art, his works have little political implications. Instead, he prefers to use a universal language to depict his inner world. His work has been exhibited extensively in China, Europe, and the United States.
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Early life
Liu Ye was born and raised in Beijing. His father was an author of children's books, who was compelled to spend much of his time working in countryside under Mao Zedong's Down to the Countryside Movement, kept many banned books hidden away in a black chest under his bed, including Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, tales by Alexander Pushkin, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, Journey to the West and The Water Margin. All those books and their illustrations influence Liu Ye's art continuously. From early on, Liu Ye demonstrated interest and talent in drawing. At the age of 10, Liu's father introduced him to Tan Quanshu, who became his first official art teacher. Since then, Liu took drawing lessons with Tan once or twice a week for five years, which was a significant period of time when he mastered basic artistic techniques. At 13, Liu Ye paused studying art temporarily because his left eye was found with amblyopia and the doctor believed that would affect his sense of space as an artist. But he did not give up his dream to be an artist and his amblyopia does not seem to destruct his art works.
Education
In 1980, Liu Ye applied for the Interior Design department at the School of Arts & Crafts in Beijing but eventually enrolled in the Industrial Design department where he started to learn about western modern art. For the first time, he was introduced to the teachings of the Bauhaus and the works of Piet Mondrian, who became his art hero later on. In 1984, after graduating from the School of Arts & Crafts, Liu Ye worked for the research centre at Beijing Gongmei (arts and crafts) Group and prepared for college entry exam at the same time. In 1986, Liu Ye enrolled in the Mural Painting department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts with an outstanding academic score. It was a time when college students in China grew enthusiasm about psychology and philosophy, especially about works by Freud. Liu was also inspired by The Interpretation of Dream and other books by Friedrich Nietzsche and Hendrik van Loon. During his time at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Liu Ye often drew comic strips and published them in newspaper for some income. In 1989, before graduating from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Liu Ye travelled to Germany and passed the entry exam of Berlin University of the Arts, where he finished his undergraduate study and received his MFA in 1994. In 1998, he joined the Artist-in-residence at Rijksacademie in Amsterdam where he further developed his skills and in 2001, he had an internship at Delfina studio Trust in London.
Art work
Liu Ye's interest in Western art and his experience studying in Berlin distinguishes him from many of his contemporary Chinese artists who have turned their art as a weapon against the Communist Regime after the Tiananmen Square protest in 1989. As the art historian Pi Li says,"The major difference between him and his contemporaries was that he did not go through the period of rage around 1989 [following the Tiananmen Square massacre], nor did his works contain elements of 'collective' images." Around the same period of time, Liu Ye was witnessing the change in Europe as the Berlin Wall came down, touring Europe's art museums and studying masters of Western modernism like Paul Klee and Johannes Vermeer. Instead of focusing on his Chinese origin, Liu Ye embraces some more universal themes like beauty, feeling and hope in his works. As he puts it, "Seeking beauty is the last chance for human beings. It is like shooting at the goal; it arouses an emotion that is wild with joy."
By the time Liu Ye went back to China in 1994, his works were deeply influenced by German Expressionism, showing intense personal expression with an overall gloomy tone. The works by Mondrian as a symbol and the Mondrian composition had already appeared in a lot of his work. Mirror, his self-portray, and the surrealism of René Magritte are other important indicators of his early work. During this period, Liu started to depict a little scenario in each of his work, which continues to be one of his recognisable styles.
After 1994, as Liu Ye returned to Beijing, his style and subject matters changed with the environment. He started to portray himself more as a little boy than a young man as he did before. More female figures appeared. The settings of his painting moved from rooms to theatres where scenes he saw in China as a little boy, his childhood dream were depicted. Chorus, fleet and sailor boys were repetitive subjects portrayed during the period. His preference for using primary colors can be traced to his childhood days in Beijing as well. "I grew up in a world of red", he recalls, "the red sun, red flags, red scarves with green pines and sunflowers often supporting the red symbols".
By 2000, Liu ye had gradually developed his own distinguishable style. From 2000, Liu ye moved his attention away from himself and started to portray figures he has interest in such as Eileen Chang, Ruan Lingyu, Andersen, Little Mermaid, and so on. At the same time, he started to paint his favourite cartoon character Miffy, a bunny by Dutch artist Dick Bruna, as a reflection of himself. Liu Ye fell in love with Miffy immediately after he first saw her while he was living in Amsterdam because he saw himself in the bunny, who is seemingly simple but actually extremely intelligent. The Mondrian symbol returned to his work, usually portrayed together with a little girl or boy, sometimes with Miffy as well.
Exhibitions
2013 Liu Ye, Johnen Galerie, Berlin, Germany (solo)
2012 Modern@MoDeng, Gallery Hotel, Beijing, China
Lightness, Iberia Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
Bamboo Bamboo Broadway, Sperone Westwater, New York, USA
Art for the Masses, Red Star Gallery, Beijing, China
In Time - 2012 Chinese Oil Painting Biennale, The National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
Faces, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2011 10th Anniversary of Soka Art Beijing, Soka Art Centre, Beijing, China
Print-Concept: The Second Academic Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Prints, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Portraits, Eastation Gallery, Beijing, China
Exhibition of Fine Art Artist Prints, S.O Art Space, Shanghai, China
China Contemporary Prints Exhibition, M-Space, Shanghai, China
2010 China. Real? - ArtChina Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
Fabrique en Chine - Chinese artists Group Exhibition - Beyond Art Space, Beijing, China
Think Pink - Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach, USA
Restoration: Contemporary Collotype Print Exhibition (group) - Millenium Gallery, Beijing, China