CAFA carves out legacy for late sculptor Liu

Late sculptor Liu Shiming could have stayed in Beijing to carve out a successful career like many of his contemporaries.

Yet, throughout the 1960s, he taught at schools and worked at museums in the provinces of Henan and Hebei. There, he formed close contact with people from different walks of life, and received an extensive exposure to rich and diverse folk cultures.

Liu developed a distinguished style. He sculpted figures of ordinary people he had known, such as villagers, factory workers, herders and local opera performers. And his work, often depicting scenes from the daily lives of his subjects, presents a touch of worldly simplicity and human warmth.

After Liu died in 2010 at age 84, his family donated a considerable collection of his work to the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, the institution from which he graduated and where he had lectured for many years.

A sculpture-art gallery built using this donation that's named after Liu will open in December. Meanwhile, exhibitions of a selection of his work will travel to New York, Washington DC, Boston, Los Angeles, Sydney and Melbourne from late October until April 2020.

Liu gained initial fame when attending the Central Academy of Fine Arts from the late 1940s to 1951. He was instructed by several prominent sculptors, who had spent years studying in Paris. He acquired solid techniques, and his work was exhibited abroad.

After graduation, Liu participated in the making of relief sculptures at the base of the Monument of People's Heroes in Tian'anmen Square. Afterward, he continued to be involved in important projects producing public sculptures in Beijing.