The Liu Shiming exhibit held its closing ceremony on Thursday, February 15 at the Isabel Bader Centre.
Dean Barbara Crow (R) with Andy Serwer (L), Co-Chair of the Advisory Board for the Liu Shiming Art Foundation.
Rito Barua examining a bronze sculpture created by Liu Shiming.
Daria Murphy, PhD candidate and exhibit curator, addressing the public at the closing event.
A bronze sculpture depicting farmers working the land.
Dr. Patricia Smithen (L), Dr. Norman Vorano, Head of the Department of Art History and Art Conservation (C), and Justina Hoi-Nam Yu (R).
Rebecca Anweiler (L) and Hannah White (R) observing some of the artwork during the closing ceremony for the Liu Shiming showcase.
Geoffrey Glick, Co-Chair of the Advisory Board and Acting President for the Liu Shiming Art Foundation.
Preserving Liu Shiming’s artistic legacy
An exhibition on Liu Shiming: Spirit of Daily Life, featuring a collection of Liu Shiming's bronze and ceramic sculptures was held at the Isabel Bader Centre for Perfroming Arts. Liu Shiming was a Chinese sculpture artist. He was the first generation of representative Chinese contemporary sculpture artists. Spanning from the 1980s to 2000s, his award-winning artworks embody a modern spirit, drawing inspiration from Chinese folk culture, dynastic history, and daily life.
The experience of Liu Shiming’s exquisite collection went deeper, as Daria Murphy, esteemed PhD candidate and exhibit curator from the Faculty of Arts and Science Department of Art History and Art Conservation, provided insights and perspectives on Liu Shiming’s artistic journey.
“In my doctoral research, I study the history of craft and design pedagogy in East Asia and Europe at the turn of the twentieth century,” says Murphy. “So, it was exciting to see the nude figures that Liu Shiming made while he was a student at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. They’re a stylistic departure from his later work. Liu’s mature style is quite gestural and playful, while serious in subject matter. He deeply cared for land, people, heritage, and what connects us as humans.”
Dean Barbara Crow commented on the showcase saying “I am so proud of this kind of opportunity and to see the way it has come alive with having a graduate student working on the show, working with the foundation, and as a university showing how we can collaborate these two institutions together to generate incredible opportunity for all of us to have access to another part of the world, another way of seeing, of the importance of visual representation and the importance both academic community and our cultural communities to be working together.”
The Liu Shiming Art Foundation is non-profit organization established in 2021, with the goal of supporting students of the arts worldwide while elevating and preserving the art of namesake Liu Shiming. It aims to provide scholarships, grants, and exchange opportunities to cultivate and grow a global arts discourse that recognizes common humanity.
“Among the very wonderful qualities of Liu Shiming’s work, is the universality and humanity of the sculptures. Regardless of our past or our culture, our nationality, or our ethos, we recognize the humanity and compassion evident throughout his work.” Geoffrey Glick, Co-Chair of the Advisory Board and Acting President for said. He spoke on behalf of Fran Kaufman, the New York Curator, who was unable to attend.
The exhibition coincides with a recent gift by the Liu Shiming Art Foundation to Queen’s University in support of a scholarship for a deserving student in the Bachelor of Art History or the Bachelor of Fine Art degree programs.