Liu Wentao(b.1973)
i) Untitled 1 ii) Untitled 2
pencil on paper;
set of two
executed in 2007
each: 56x76 cm
(22 x 30 in)
each diameter: 47.5 cm
(18 3/4 in)

Graduated from the Printmaking department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China, Liu Wentao sets high standard in the composition of lines and surface with super accuracy. He was appointed to teach in the Western countries from late 1990s to 2005. The spirit of Western abstract art has great influence on Liu’s works. Inspired by minimalism, constructivism, spatialism and hard-edge paintings, his works created a good balance of sense and simplicity.

Liu Wentao completed a series of work with pencil on papers since 2006, proofing his refined attainment in art. He melds the spirit of Chinese traditional painting with the philosophy of Western painting. In this series, Liu uses a web of lines to render the division of space and the change of light and forms, meticulously yet aesthetically creating a three-dimensional visual illusion. The repeated drawing of dense lines is also akin to the ideology of oriental meditation.