Liu Ye

Liu Ye (; born in 1964) is a Beijing-based contemporary Chinese painter known for his bright-hued paintings of childlike female figures, his favorite cartoon character Miffy the bunny and works inspired by Piet Mondrian. Liu Ye is part of a generation of artists who grew up during the Cultural Revolution. However, unlike most acclaimed Chinese contemporary art, his works have little political implications. Instead, he prefers to use a universal language to depict his inner world. His work has been exhibited extensively in China, Europe and the United States. Early life Liu Ye was born and raised in Beijing. His father was an author of children's books, who was compelled to spend much of his time working in countryside under Mao Zedong's Down to the Countryside Movement, kept many banned books hidden away in a black chest under his bed, including Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, tales by Alexander Pushkin, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, Journey to the West and The Water Margin. All those books and their illustrations influence Liu Ye's art continuously. From early on, Liu Ye demonstrated interest and talent in drawing. At the age of 10, Liu's father introduced him to Tan Quanshu, who became his first official art teacher. Since then, Liu took drawing lessons with Tan once or twice a week for five years, which was a significant period of time when he mastered basic artistic techniques. At 13, Liu Ye paused studying art temporarily because his left eye was found with amblyopia and the doctor believed that would affect his sense of space as an artist. But he did not give up his dream to be an artist and his amblyopia does not seem to destruct his art works. Education In 1980, Liu Ye applied for the Interior Design department at the School of Arts & Crafts in Beijing but eventually enrolled in the Industrial Design department where he started to learn about western modern art. For the first time, he was introduced to the teachings of the Bauhaus and the works of Piet Mondrian, who became his art hero later on. In 1984, after graduating from the School of Arts & Crafts, Liu Ye worked for the research center at Beijing Gongmei (arts and crafts) Group and prepared for college entry exam at the same time. In 1986, Liu Ye enrolled in the Mural Painting department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts with an outstanding academic score.