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Sunflower by Liu Jian

Liu Jian Biography

Shanghai, China, 1961

An established Chinese artist, Liu Jian works in an abstract expressionist style.

He attended the Art Institute of Beijing where he received his bachelor of arts degree. He became the resident painter and lecturer at the Chinese Painting Academy of Shanghai, and later a part-time lecturer at the Shanghai Vocational School of Arts and the Director of the Shanghai Youth Artist Association.

During this time, Jian?s work was strongly calligraphic. He worked with abstractions of the traditional landscape and textual themes, though still within the context of traditional Chinese brush painting. In 1987, he visited Germany and a new world was opened to him. He was particularly influenced by the work of Joseph Beuys, and from 1989 forward, Jian incorporated these new influences into his own paintings. He utilized bold brush strokes, drips, and splashes of color with the Chinese ink. Following the Tiananmen Square massacre, he moved to Canada where he completed a series of sombre canvases with overt political references. He later turned to experimentations with oils and acrylics on canvas. Jian loves to experiment with his techniques and media because, as he says, "the problems facing painting are formal problems. When the solution of a problem takes form, a painting is born."

Since relocating to Canada Jian has served as the director of the Ontario Chinese Art Association and as the director for the Gallery of Ontarion for Chinese Art. He has shown regularly in Hong Kong with Alison Fine Art and in Toronto. He has also shown in Verona, Taibei, London, Paris, Barcelona, Munich, Hamburg, Shanghai, and in New York City. His work is featured in the collections of Prince Haik Zaruan of Austria, Ms. Hope Rockefeller of New York, The National Bank of Canada in Hong Kong, the United States Embassy of Brunei, Feoso Oil, Ltd., Robert Mondavi of California, Bill Kohrs of IBM, the Union Swiss Bank and the Belgian Consulate in Hong Kong among others.

Selected Exhibitions:

2007 - PicassoMio.com

2003 - AAF International Art Fair. New York, USA - AAF International Art Fair. London, UK

2002 - Salon2002, Walsh Gallery. Chicago, USA

2001 - Shanghai Art Museum. Shanghai, China

2000 - Miami Art Fair. Miami, USA - Shenzhen Centre Art Museum. China - Yibo Gallery. Shanghai, China - Shanghai East Normal University Art Gallery. Shanghai, China

1999 - Home?Coming, Alice King Gallery. Hong Kong, China

1998 - Christopher Cutts Gallery. Toronto, Canada

1997 - D.P. Fong Galleries. San Jose, USA - Walsh Gallery. Chicago, USA - Alison Fine arts Limited. Hong Kong, China

1996 - Finer Side Gallery. Maryland, USA

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