Liu Kang |
| (1911 - 2004, Singaporean) |
| Fujian Province, China, 1911 - Singapore, 2004 Born in 1911 in Fujian, China, Liu moved as a child to Muar, Malaya, but completed his secondary school education in Jinan University Middle School, Shanghai. He attended a summer school art course at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, where his talent was recognised. He enrolled at the Academy, where he was mentored by the principal, Liu Haisu. After graduating in 1928, he travelled to Paris to continue his training at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, finishing in 1933 and returning to Shanghai to teach Western painting at the Academy. After the Japanese invasion he moved to Singapore, and in 1942 back to Muar. He only returned to Singapore after the war, where life began to stabilise. He was appointed President of the Society of Chinese Artists and in 1949 he co-founded the Singapore Art Society with Richard Walker, Art Superintendent of Singapore Schools. This blossoming of arts organisations in Singapore was a turning point, as Liu joined forces other ex-pat Chinese colleagues from the Shanghai Academy and the Society of Chinese Artists, including Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng and Cheng Chong Swee. They all taught at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and their 1952 trip to Bali and subsequent exhibition, Pictures of Bali, 1953, at the British Council in Singapore, saw the birth of the Nanyang style. Liu received the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star) in 1970 and the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal) in 1996 for his contributions to visual arts in Singapore. In 2003 he donated more than 1000 paintings and sketches to the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), just one year before his death at the age of 93. A retrospective entitled Liu Kang: A Centennial Celebration, was held at SAM in 2011, organised by the National Art Gallery, Singapore, and supported by the National Heritage Board. |
Liu Kang in current auction: |
