LIU HUI

Liu Hui creates powerful abstract compositions which are characterised by a bold, dynamic use of colour and line. In their energetic technique and spontaneous freedom of expression, Liu's paintings owe much to Abstract Expressionism, yet his compositions are by no means random, but well organised using a mostly linear approach. Often the picture plane is clearly divided horizontally into two uneven parts, differentiated by different colour fields. Within each, broad bands of richly textured paint sweep across the canvas, bisected by fine vertical lines.

Many of Liu Hui's paintings are inspired by the beautiful scenery near his home town of Harbin, in northern China. These reflect the different moods of the landscape, from suggestions of lush foliage, golden yellow fields and fiery sunsets, to calmer grey and white canvases that evoke the quiet cold of a frozen winter scene. Some of his paintings hover between a purely abstract composition of lines and colour and a more realistic representation of the landscape. Such realistic elements against an abstract ground include sensitive depictions of lotus flowers, a favourite subject on which Liu Hui has focused for many years both as a painter and photographer.