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Artistic currency

By Xin Yi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-30 13:19

Dongfang (The Oriental), 270x780cm, 1993. Four leaders of the PRC - Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.

Liu Wenxi might not be a familiar name to many people, but the 76-year-old artist has a direct connection to everyone in China - he painted the main illustration on all of today's Chinese currency from 1 to 100 yuan notes, the portrait of the nation's late leader Mao Zedong.

Born in east China's Zhejiang province, Liu graduated from Zhejiang Arts College in 1958, which was renamed the China Academy of Art in 1993. Since graduation, he has worked for more than 50 years at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, a well-known art school in southwest China's Shaanxi province. He is now the honorary president of the school.

A native of Zheijiang province, Liu Wenxi has worked at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts for 50 years. His published works include 10 volumes of artwork and more than 1,000 paintings. Twenty-five of his orginal works are now a part of China's National Art Museum.

Beginning in the mid-20th century, Liu had already begun to attract attention from critics and established a reputation for the strong realism of his paintings.

"For creative inspiration, go deeply into life. For creative passion, approach people, who will tell you where to go," the widely acclaimed painter tells fledgling artists.

He has made scores of visits around counties and villages in the province, painting portraits of thousands of farmers and drawing tens of thousands of quick sketches.

Depicting his subjects on the Loess Plateau with its expanses of yellow earth, Liu is considered a leader of the "yellow earth painting school" that has a heavy local Shaanxi flavor in its paintings.

Just a few of his subjects include an old, wrinkled man with a pipe in his mouth and a white towel on his head - traditional dress in the region - or a young girl wearing a delightful, colorful scarf and a shy, faint smile, or farmers with heavy loads of wheat on their backs, their eyes reflecting hardships and hopes of life, pictures that exude a strength that can touch the hearts of viewers.

Another frequent topic presented in his work is the nation's first generation of leaders, especially Mao.

Shaanxi province was a key revolutionary center, so stories and legends about the leaders have long been told.

Liu's pictures are a reflection of the closeness between the leaders and the people, critics say.

Join the Enjoyment, 100x120cm, 1962.

Care for Children, 140x160cm, 1975.

Millet Rice, 68x136cm, 1983.

Great Victory, 200*300cm,1977

At Mao Zedong's Side, 120*160cm, 1959

He has been to the places where Mao and his soldiers fought their rivals, had talks with old farmers and veteran soldiers who witnessed or participated in the fights, collected and researched a wealth of historical documents, and made thousands of quick sketches of the local environment and people.

His diligence and seriousness has paid off.

He has released more than 10 albums of collected work and published more than 1,000 paintings at home and abroad. Twenty-five of his paintings are now in the National Art Museum.

Though founded in the long tradition of Chinese painting, Liu's work also embraces Western art to expand his expressive techniques.

He has visited many countries including Japan, the United States and Canada to exchange artistic insight, and has held exhibitions with his wife Chen Guangjian, also a painter.