Liu Kuosung
China, 1932
Artist's works
Artist Profile
Snowy Valley
Bali Seascape
Introduction and Experience
Liu Kuosung (b. 1932, China) is widely regarded as the "Father of Modern Ink Painting" and one of the most influential pioneers of contemporary Chinese art. Rooted in the aesthetics of Chinese tradition while embracing the spirit of modernity, he has spent more than seven decades redefining the possibilities of ink painting for the global stage.
While studying at National Taiwan Normal University in the 1950s, Liu co-founded the Fifth Moon Group, helping to launch Taiwan's modern art movement. Challenging conventional approaches to ink painting, he pioneered innovations such as Kuosung Paper and his distinctive "stripped-fiber texture" technique, fundamentally transforming the material language, spatial expression, and visual vocabulary of contemporary ink art. His influence soon extended from Taiwan to Hong Kong and China, shaping the course of modern ink painting across the Chinese-speaking world.
Over decades of rigorous experimentation, Liu has expanded the traditional landscape genre into a cosmic vision, moving from mountains and rivers to the imagery of outer space. His works are held in the permanent collections of major museums worldwide, standing as enduring landmarks in the evolution of contemporary ink painting and a testament to a lifetime of artistic innovation.
Exhibitions and Awards
Selected Exhibitions
Solo & Retrospective Exhibitions
2023
Liu Kuosung: Experimentation as Method —National Gallery Singapore, Singapore
2022
Forging New Paths in Ink: An Exhibition of Liu Kuosung Documents from the 1940s to the 1980s —Te-Chun Gallery, Department of Fine Arts, National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), Taipei, Taiwan
Group Exhibitions, Biennials & Triennials
2025
Midnight Sun —30th Anniversary Exhibition of the CHING WAN SOCIETY'S Collection, National Museum of History, Taipei, Taiwan
Five Suns —The Formosa Era: Knowledge Enlightenment of Modern Art in Taiwan, Tainan Art Museum, Tainan, Taiwan
Mountain Beyond Mountains —Arts as Imprints of the Times: NTMOFA Permanent Collection Exhibition, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMOFA), Taichung, Taiwan
Spiraling Grandeur —Fernando Zóbel: Order is Essential, National Gallery Singapore, Singapore
Abstract Landscape, Which is Earth? No. 42 —Fantasy of Ink: Hong Kong Lingnan Masters Art Exhibition, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Michigan, USA
Which is Earth? —Silent Artifacts, Whispering Histories: Conservation of Taiwanese Art from the NMH Collection, National Museum of History, Taipei, Taiwan
Floating Mountain —14th Taipei Biennial: Whispers on the Horizon, Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), Taipei, Taiwan
2024
Midnight Sun III —The Birth of Modernist Art Movement in Taiwan: The May and Ton-Fan Art Groups, National Museum of History, Taipei, Taiwan
Spiraling Grandeur, Untitled —Zóbel: The Future of the Past, Ayala Museum, Makati, Philippines
Mid-Autumn Moon —Reimagining the Children's Encyclopedia, Taoyuan Children's Art Museum, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2023
Let the Spirit Freely Wander, Let the Mind be Pleased —Era of Principle and No Principle Interwoven: Calligraphy as Visual Form, Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Mountain Beyond Mountains, Which is Earth? No. 3 —Art in Our Time: NTMOFA 35th Anniversary Collection Exhibition, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMOFA), Taichung, Taiwan
2022
Ring Centre (B) —Kathmandu Triennale 2077, Kathmandu, Nepal
Resilience In the Face of Wintry Conditions —Inheritance and Paragon: NTNU Alumni Art Exhibition in Celebration of the Hundredth Anniversary 2022, NTNU Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
The Roaring Waves Pound the Shore, Rolling Up a Thousand Piles of Snow —Redefining Tradition: Gifts from the Lee Family Collection of Chinese Paintings, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, USA
2021
Sea of Floating Ice, It'll Soon Be White All Over, Day Break —Ink Dreams: Selections from the Fondation INK Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, USA
Universe in My Mind —Flying Ink: Hengshan International Calligraphy Art Exhibition, Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2020
Longing for Nature: Reading Landscapes in Chinese Art —Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Switzerland
Note: Has held over a hundred solo, group, and touring exhibitions worldwide since 1956.
Awards
2026
First Class Cultural Medal—Ministry of Culture, Taiwan
2017
Executive Yuan Cultural Award—Executive Yuan, Taiwan
2016
Honorary Committee Member—China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC), China
Order of Propitious Clouds with Grand Cordon (2nd Class)—Office of the President, Taiwan
2011
1st China Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement—China National Academy of Arts, China
Collections
Museum and Institutional Collections
- Sun and Moon: Floating? Sinking? —The British Museum, London, UK
- Midsummer at Mt. Tianzi —The Palace Museum, Beijing, China
- Clouds Amidst Deep Mountains (Lost in Mist) —Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Private Collections
- Works are held in private collections in Taiwan, China, the UK, and worldwide.