Liu Xiaodong, On the Way to Give a Gift, 2023. Oil on canvas, 200x140cm.
Born in Liaoning province, Liu Xiaodong has been traveling around the world for nearly three decades, observing and depicting a variety of real and ordinary people. Austere and natural, his works provide a powerful insight into reality, showcasing the original vitality of painting. The painting series on display, despite being on canvas or paper, are not bound by them; instead, they stretch out and form a three-dimensional expression. Unlike the general pursuit of ideology and the imitation of Western modernist painting by Chinese artists since the 1980s, Liu has brought Chinese art back to reality with his “realistic oil paintings”.
The exhibition at Eslite Gallery Beijing features three of Liu’s series, respectively created in Northeast China, in the casinos in Macau, and during the Dajia Matsu Pilgrimage in Taiwan. In addition to nearly 30 paintings on canvas and on paper, there are also two documentaries and precious documents including Liu’s diaries and sketches.
Liu Xiaodong, Daytime Patrol, 2024. Oil on canvas, 230x300cm.
In Taichung, Taiwan, Liu demonstrated deep immersion in the local cultural scenes, bringing to life the temple fair amid heat and humidity. From the litter bearers and a young man walking in the precession with his household deity on his back, to the devotees who crawled under the litter, Daytime Patrol captures the details of the 96-hour journey. In the painting, objects such as the litter, rotating parasols, devotees’ clothes, and firecrackers are joined to create a vibrant space. Liu skillfully incorporated elements in the surroundings, such as the distant view, rice crops, the factory, the railway, underpasses, and the tin house into his painting, achieving a multi-layered visual effect.
Liu Xiaodong, Bridge Crossing, 2024. Oil on canvas, 230x300cm.
"The devotees covered the distance of 190 kilometers on foot, in four days and four nights. They stopped to celebrate Matsu's birthday at the Feng Tian Temple for two days, before heading back to Dajia, traversing another 190 kilometers.
Having followed Matsu for 96 hours, I've grown fonder of that litter. Although there were too many people for me to get closer, I constantly felt drawn to an intangible force that made me forget my mundane worries."
WRITTEN BY LIU XIAODONG IN DIARY DURING THE DAJIA MATSU PILGRIMAGE.
In terms of the artistic spirit, Liu is drawn to grander themes of more social significance, such as economic changes and the changing times. He has created evidence for the existence of forgotten towns in the countryside and the underprivileged left behind by the urbanization tides. Liu also regards paintings from life as a kind of action “on site”, which enables us to see from his paintings a multi-layered “scene” assembled from different elements, much like a documentary. It is through documentary films and diaries that he collected information, recording and capturing his true inner state comprehensively.
Liu Xiaodong, Favorable Hand, 2023. Oil on canvas, 300x250cm.
Shifting his focus onto the gambling tables in Macau, Liu captured the vivid scenes in the Grand Lisboa and the L’Arc Hotel in his ten paintings of the series "Casino in Macau". In the two paintings Round Tables and Long Table, the complex lines forming the casino space are intricately intertwined with the various bright colors of the grand decoration. The densely packed characters, each engaged in their own business at hand, are much like a thousand ripples spreading across a still lake, inevitably reminding viewers of some kind of game in loops.
Liu Xiaodong, Long Table, 2023. Oil on canvas, 150x140cm.
Liu Xiaodong, Round Tables, 2023. Oil on canvas, 150x140cm.
“Photos were not allowed in there. However, as I was with their boss, I pretended to be having a phone call, while taking photos in secret. There was a lot of hustle and bustle in the Grand Lisboa, with the crowds and the red carpet. Hotel Lisboa, on the other hand, is in an old round building, very small and very much a proper casino.
As I took more pictures, I was less cautious and even followed a security guard, who happened to turn around and caught me red-handed. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by about half a dozen guards. I still acted as if I was on the phone …”
WRITTEN BY LIU XIAODONG IN DIARY: PAINTING EXPERIENCE IN MACAU.
“Photos are not allowed in casinos”, so Liu adapted his measures to the reality, recording the details of the scene like a detective. Despite knowing photos were not allowed, he still snapped pictures in secret like an intelligence officer on a mission, in order to grasp the architecture, space, characters, and the atmosphere in motion of the scene in the casino. Then, he combed through his thoughts and feelings with his diaries and memory, transforming them into vivid expressions in his paintings.
Liu Xiaodong, A Gulp, 2024. Oil on canvas, 200x120cm.
The series of "Hometown in Northeast China" originated from Liu’s visit back to Heitukeng in 2019, his hometown in Jincheng in Northeast China. In the following two years, he created works that reflected the daily lives of his family, and, building on them, developed more rich stories about life in Northeast China, such as the real village life lived by his family and friends.
Liu Xiaodong, Elder Brothers Moving Stones, 2023. Oil on canvas, 70x60cm.
Liu Xiaodong, Elder Brothers Fixing a Lock, 2023. Oil on canvas, 70x60cm.
It illustrates different kinds of interpersonal relationships. For example, On the Way to Give a Gift, Elder Brothers Fixing a Lock, and Elder Brothers Moving Stones, among many others, shine with unadorned human touch, yet they also leave vast room for imagination in his ways of expression for details. He depicts his deep affection for his hometown with down-to-earth brush strokes, while showing the changes his hometown went through in the tides of urbanization from a subtle perspective.
Liu Xiaodong's works have been exhibited all over the world, and his artworks are in the public collections of art museums in Beijing, Shanghai, Zurich, New York, Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, and other cities. The talented artist has not only traveled the world to paint, but also ventured into the world of movies. The Days, where he was the lead actor, was selected as one of the best 100 films of all time by the BBC in 1995. The documentary Hometown Boy, produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien and recording Liu’s return to his hometown in Liaoning, won important awards such as “Best Documentary” at the 48th Golden Horse Awards in 2011.
LIU Xiaodong currently resides and works in Beijing.
About the Exhibition
Dates: SEP 6 – OCT 20, 2024
Venue: Eslite Gallery Beijing
Courtesy of Eslite Gallery.
