The University of Kansas

Liu Guosong

China, born 1932
Yellow and Gray, a Landscape, 1968
ink and colors on paper collage
Gift of the Ssu-ch'uan'k'o Collection, 78.170

The modern period in China began in the 19th century, when foreign invasions compounded a deep cultural identity crisis. Traditional social values based on Confucianism had to compete with newly introduced Western ideas of government and technology. Reform was the key to the renewal of culture. Some leaders proposed a complete divorce from what they considered the effete traditions of the past five millennia, while others insisted on the reinvigoration of cultural roots.

In painting, reform took many directions—some artists continued traditional styles, while others sought answers in Western art. Liu Gousong’s Yellow and Gray, A Landscape represents the latter development. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Guosong minimized the use of the Chinese brush, the tool through which Chinese literati had conveyed their emotions for centuries, yet included allusions to mountains and rivers, two indivisible elements of traditional Chinese landscape painting. The work shown was assembled largely by collage techniques and shows Guosong’s interest in abstract expressionism. Images are suggestive rather than explanatory. The artist applied ink to one side of the coarse, fibrous paper and then pulled out a number of fibers from the surface, leaving irregular white streaks within the dark areas. He then painted on the opposite side of the paper so that the ink and color showing through from the back add to the unique textural richness.

The complex tapestry of contemporary Chinese painting weaves together the continuation of well-established themes depicted in both traditional and innovative styles with abstract works embodying the latest artistic trends and methods.