Liu Kang () was a

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

an artist known for his Balinese-themed figurative paintings. He was a founding member of the Singapore Art Society, and was credited with developing the

Nanyang Style The Nanyang style of painting, also known as Nanyang art or the Nanyang school, was a modern art movement and painting tradition initially practised by migrant Chinese painters in Singapore from the late-1940s to 1960s. As immigrant artists taken ...

, an art style associated with the

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA); (Standard Chinese: 南洋艺术学院; ms, Akademi Seni Halus Nanyang; ta, நன்யாங் அகாடமி ஆஃப் ஃபைன் ஆர்ட்ஸ்) is a publicly-funded post-secondary ar ...

Biography

Liu was born in

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

Province and he spent his early years in British Malaya, studied art in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and taught art in Shanghai during the 1930s. Under the influence of Chinese artist and art teacher

Liu Haisu Liu Haisu (; 16 March 1896 – 7 August 1994) was a prominent twentieth-century Chinese painter and a noted art educator. He excelled in Chinese painting and oil painting. He was one of the four pioneers of Chinese modern art who earned the titl ...

(1896–1994), Liu admired, and often appropriated the styles of French-based modernist painters such as Cézanne,

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

and

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

. Liu moved to Singapore in 1942 and had been credited with numerous contributions to the local arts scene. In 1952, Liu, Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng went on a field trip to Bali in search of a visual expression that was Southeast Asian. In 1970, Liu was awarded the

Bintang Bakti Masyarakat The Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (English: Public Service Star) is a Singaporean decoration instituted in 1963, is awarded to any person who has rendered valuable public service to the people of Singapore, or who has distinguished themselves in the ...

(Public Service Star) by the

Singapore Government The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...

. He was honoured by the same agency in 1996 with the

Pingat Jasa Gemilang The Pingat Jasa Gemilang ( en, Meritorious Service Medal) is a Singaporean national honour and medal instituted in 1962. It may be awarded to any person who has performed "''service of conspicuous merit characterised by resource and devotion to ...

(Meritorious Service Medal). In May 2003, the 92-year-old artist gave the majority of his paintings and sketches, amounting to over 1,000 pieces, to the

Singapore Art Museum The Singapore Art Museum (Abbreviation: SAM) is an art museum is located in the Downtown Core district of Singapore. It is the first fully dedicated contemporary visual arts museum in Singapore with one of the world’s most important public co ...

. He also unveiled a painting of three Balinese women, each carrying a basket, titled ''Offerings''. To commemorate the 100th year of Liu's birth, the National Art Gallery, Singapore, together with the Global Chinese Arts & Culture Society and Lianhe Zaobao, held a forum titled "Liu Kang: Tropical Vanguard" on 2 April 2011. The forum brought together a panel of established artists and scholars to discuss Liu's significant influence and contributions to Singapore's art history.

Personal life

Liu was married to Chen Jen Ping and had four sons, one daughter. One of his sons,

Liu Thai Ker use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

, is an architect, urban planner and was the chairman of the National Arts Council of Singapore.

Death

Liu died on 1 June 2004 due to natural causes.

Bibliography

W.W. Yeo, et al. (2011), ''Liu Kang: Colourful Modernist'', National Gallery Singapore,

References

External links

Tracing the Footsteps of a Master Painter
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Kang 1911 births 2004 deaths Painters from Fujian Chinese emigrants to British Malaya Singaporean artists 20th-century Singaporean painters 20th-century Chinese painters Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang Recipients of the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat