LIU KUO-SUNG: EXPERIMENTATION AS METHOD CATALOGUE

"Seek first to be unique, and then to be excellent." Artist Liu Kuo-sung imparted this maxim to his students in a bid to cultivate an ethos of experimentation, which he saw as a fundamental to artistic creation. This bilingual research monograph explores how this pioneering figure of modern ink applies the same approach to his own practice: through experiments with brushless methods and the materiality of ink and paper, Liu has forged new ways of thinking about the legacy of Chinese ink painting. Published on the occasion of a retrospective exhibition at National Gallery Singapore, this catalogue features five newly commissioned essays by renowned scholars, an interview with Liu, and over 60 full-colour image plates of Liu's works. A section with rare archival materials - many published for the first time - charts how Liu explored and advocated for the modernisation of Chinese ink painting over the span of his 70-year career.