LIU XIAODONG

LIU XIAODONG (Chinese, b.1963) was born in Liaoning Province, and is one of China’s most celebrated Contemporary artists. In 1980, Liu left his hometown of Jincheng to pursue art in Beijing. Liu attended the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where he received his BA in 1988 and his MFA in 1995. He lives and works in Beijing, and is currently a professor in the painting department at CAFA. Liu is primarily a Figurative painter, capturing snapshots of time with his richly-colored works and interesting use of framing and perspective. His subjects are often common people and those at the margins of society, such as sex workers and the homeless. Liu tends to draw inspiration from scenes of friends and family members doing everyday activities, but his work often alludes to social problems he seeks to highlight through his art.