Renowned painter donates collection to hometown gallery

The Midnight Sun.[Photo by Ju Chuanjiang/China Daily]

An art gallery in Shandong recently acquired a wealth of paintings by Liu Kuo-Sung, a renowned painter who lives in Taiwan.

Opened at Shandong Provincial Museum on April 26, the gallery will permanently exhibit the masterpieces by the painter.

Known as "the father of modern ink painting", the 81-year-old donated a total of 81 masterpieces to the museum, creating the largest collection of his work in the world.

Painter Liu Kuo-Sung.[Photo by Ju Chuanjiang/China Daily]

"I'm very glad that my work can be on display permanently at the largest museum of my hometown," said Liu, adding that another 19 pieces will be donated later.

An art fund worth 4 million yuan ($625,000) supported by Liu and the provincial government was launched at the same time to boost the development of modern ink painting.

Xie Zhixiu, director of the Shandong Cultural Relics Bureau, said Liu's works are valuable cultural treasures.

"People can review his art life through these works created at different periods," he added.

Xie said a research center will also be established to hold regular international seminars on Liu's artistic style and the development of modernist ink painting in China.

Born in 1932, Liu is a master in combing the traditional Chinese culture with modern elements.

In 1949, Liu moved to Taiwan and became a student of the Art Department of National Taiwan Normal University two years later.

At that time, he was trained in Chinese brush-and-ink and Western painting techniques.

After graduation, he founded the Fifth Moon Painting Society with his friends, which later became a key contemporary art society in Taiwan.

Since 1960s, Liu has been devoted to the innovation of the traditional Chinese ink painting and established a new approach which mixes tradition with Western arts.

Inspired by Western abstractionism, he discovered marbling techniques that give his work a special texture.