It is no accident that the simplified paintings by Liu Ye (*1964) are reminiscent of cartoons and illustrations in children’s books: the artist’s father wrote books for children and possessed a box filled with Western, often prohibited classic children’s literature. The pictures in them influenced Liu Ye at an early age. After studying at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and the Berlin University of the Arts, the artist discovered his own distinct style, which plays with viewers’ visual expectations and catch them unawares with surprising pictorial compositions. His small-format paintings of Miffy the rabbit, the character created by Dick Bruna, are unmistakable, often painted against a dismal background that recalls the Old Masters or combined with elements borrowed from Piet Mondrian, as are his pastel compositions with innocent yet challenging female characters.
This first catalogue raisonné featuring the sensitive works by Liu Ye provides an overview of his creative output from 1991 to 2015.