Works
Liu Kuo-sung (Liu Guosong), respected as the Father of Modern Ink Painting by the art worlds of Taiwan and China, has passionately promoted modern ink painting with a religious zeal. Liu Kuo-sung’s faith is art, and modern ink paintings are his scripture. Over the last sixty years, Liu has journeyed around the world in art exhibitions and academic seminars, bringing his scripture wherever he went, in the true spirit of a missionary.
Exhibitions
To the Moon
Liu Kuo-sung
Dec 21, 2019 – May 31, 2020
Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
The Scripture of a Missionary of Modern Ink Painting III
Liu Kuo-sung
Feb 18 – April 15, 2017
The Scripture of a Missionary of Modern Ink Painting II
Liu Kuo-sung
Nov 21, 2015 – Feb 16, 2016
The Missionary of Modern Ink Painting
Liu Kuo-sung
Teacher & Students Group Exhibition
Jan 31 – Feb 28, 2015
The Scripture of a Missionary of Modern Ink Painting I
Liu Kuo-sung
Oct 25, 2014 – Jan 24, 2015
Surrounding Mountains, Towering Peak
Liu Kuo-sung
Oct 5 – Dec 1, 2013
Journal
Icy Tree with Silver Branches
Catalog Entry
What Liu Kuo-sung’s Icy Tree with Silver Branches Conveys Is Perseverance
Set against an icy outcrop, clusters of snow-clad branches dominate the painting. Despite the weight of winter snow, the branches remain upright and shoot toward the sky, patiently waiting for the arrival of spring.
Liu Kuo-sung, Icy Tree with Silver Branches, 2009 © The Liu Kuo-sung Archives
Light Snow
Catalog Entry
The Scripture of a Missionary of Modern Ink Painting II
This painting reveals the influence of Taoism on Liu Kuo-sung’s art, particularly the philosophy that Yin and Yang is the source of all things. Yin and Yang are not to be understood as two opposing forces, but rather as two parts of the same whole, working in unison, creating all life in the universe.
Liu Kuo-sung, Light Snow, 1963 © The Liu Kuo-sung Archives
Pressing on the Brow
Catalog Entry
The Scripture of a Missionary of Modern Ink Painting II
Uncommon among Liu Kuo-sung’s oeuvre, the subject matter of this painting is exceptionally personal. Its inspiration comes from his wife Li Mo-hua’s eyebrows. Back when the couple first began dating, Liu was immediately drawn toward her eyebrows and the strong personality they conveyed.
Liu Kuo-sung, Pressing on the Brow, 1964 © The Liu Kuo-sung Archives
News
Art in Our Times – National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
Museum Exhibition
Liu Kuo-sung
Several Modern ink paintings by Liu Kuo-sung’s are now on view at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung. Celebrating the NTMoFA’s 35th anniversary, Art in Our Times features highlights the Museum’s permanent collection, and offers four curatorial perspectives of Taiwan’s art history
Installation View, National Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung. Photo: T. Chang
Experimentation as Method
Museum Exhibition
Liu Kuo-sung
The Father of Modern Ink, Liu Kuo-sung’s large-scale retrospective at the National Gallery Singapore opens from Jan 13 to Nov 26, 2023. The exhibition features over sixty paintings and 150 archival items from the Taipei-based artist’s career of over seventy years, as well as highlights Liu’s innovation and contribution to the developing the genre of Modern Ink Painting.
Installation view, National Gallery Singapore. Photo: National Gallery Singapore
2023 Hengshan Calligraphy Biennial
Museum Exhibition
Liu Kuo-sung
ERA OF PRINCIPLE AND NO PRINCIPLE – Calligraphy as a Visual Form opens Jan 20, 2023 to April 24 at Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center at Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts. Curated by Wu Chao-Jen of Tunghai University’s Department of Fine Arts, the exhibition invites Taiwanese and international artists to explore calligraphy as a visual form in Contemporary art and its possible future development as a practice.
Installation View, Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center, Taoyuan. Photo: TMOFA
The Cosmos of Liu Kuo-sung – National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
Museum Exhibition
Liu Kuo-sung
The Comos of Liu Kuo-sung – Multi-media Interactive Exhibition is now on view at National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung and runs through Nov. 27. The interactive digital installation is inspired by the Museum’s comprehensive collection of the Father of Modern Ink’s artworks.
Installation View, National Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung. Photo: NTMOFA
Paving the Road to Contemporary Ink – Dechun Gallery
Museum Exhibition
Liu Kuo-sung
In celebration of Liu Kuo-sung’s 90th birthday, National Taiwan Normal University and The Liu Kuo-sung Archives presents Paving the Road to Contemporary Ink – Liu Kuo-sung Archives Exhibition 1940s – 1980s. Showcasing important letters, documents, and photographs from Liu’s extensive career of over seventy years, the exhibition runs from April 16 to May 11, 2022 at NTNU’s Dechun Gallery.
Liu Kuo-sung, Self-Portrait, 1951 © The Liu Kuo-sung Archives
To The Moon – Gallery Talk
In Conversation
Liu Kuo-sung
On March 3 Elaine Suyu Liu, Director of Loftyart Gallery, will present a guided tour on the To The Moon – Liu Kuo-sung Exhibition in rooms 201 – 203 at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts.
Liu Kuo-sung, Blue Moon Landscape, 1969 – 1990 © The Liu Kuo-sung Archives
Publications
A Man of the East, West, South, & North (Limited Edition)
Biography
The Father of Modern Ink Painting
– Liu Kuo-sung
by Richard Chang, Elaine Liu
YLib, 2019
© YLib
A Man of the East, West, South, & North
Biography
The Father of Modern Ink Painting
– Liu Kuo-sung
by Richard Chang, Elaine Liu
YLib, 2019
© YLib
The Scripture of a Missionary of Modern Ink Painting
Catalog
Liu Kuo-sung Print Catalog Vol. III
Lofty Culture & Art, 2017
© Loftyart Gallery