Two wings of artistic creation are personal experiences in the life of a painter and the resulting images. They determine the away of flying" of a painter in an artistic space. With her unbound imaginativeness Liu Xiuming is somebody very special among contemporary painters. When I saw her works for the first time, I was impressed by the illusionary space that she creates. It seems as if two optical impressions-human and extraterrestrial -are piled on each other, presenting diverse structures, properties and different emotional tendencies, such as near and far, clear and hazy, blurred and solid, showing apparently opposite emotional tendencies in real life.

　　Traditional Chinese culture concentrates its attention on the balance and harmony of people, in real society, and also in their hearts. Our quest for character "without harm in your thoughts", "glory or prize as opposed to indifference" and "neutral" in traditional poems and works of literature, apparently has not acknowledged contradictions in human hearts. In traditional Chinese art this is not an ideal character and-naturally not ideal art.

　　During the last thirty years more and more Chinese artists have attempted to find individual forms of art. It seems peculiar that many artists develop in their ways of expression their particular proprieties, but continue to retain clear moral principles in their hearts. The symbolism of the old tradition of the Confucian school but also the symbolism of the new tradition of "Chinese Marxism" induces Chinese artists to retain a remarkable "unity" in their quest for artistic development. An attempt -such as the one of Liu Xiuming-to analyse and bring forward the inner contradictions with limpid and direct colours and structures is relatively rare.

　　Serenity and freedom are the main moods of Liu Xiuming's works. She often uses the colours red, blue and grey on large areas, and also floating and hovering clouds and simple lines and surfaces in order to create mysterious spaces. Therein float her aspirations, ideas and illusions reflecting her wishes. Starting out from her own limited experiences in life Liu Xiuming attempts to explore the deep world in her heart and to peer into the distant unlimited universe. She describes the universe in an airy style and the earth with heavy layers of colour, and her hidden thoughts and serene mood wander between heaven and earth.

　　Liu Xiuming has evidently studied the development of classics and classical aesthetic concepts of heaven and earth, and her method of painting is clearly characterized by modern art. The sharp and transparent geometrical lines and surfaces, which traverse different spaces, remind us of modern civilisation. Behind them I also suspect a great number of experiences in life, which one cannot escape. For this reason there exists an inevitable, irresolvable contradiction in her artistic quest, just as the high rising modern artificial elements between heaven and earth which come across as high, distant and peaceful but also as intruders of unknown origin between the deep, dark and tranquil colours. In this way the weighty earth discloses its restlessness and absent peace.

　　Liu Xiuming's art started in China and has had success in Austria. More than twenty years ago she moved from Bejing to Vienna. In her work we notice that her aesthetic interests and her cultural proprieties are completely different from that of Chinese female painters. This is connected with her twenty years living in Vienna. The effect and influence of Eastern and Western cultural history of these two cities, Bejing and Vienna, is different but also similar. Liu Xiuming's artistic composure and attraction are more or less shaped by these old cities of culture. This is an indisputable truth.

　　Liu Xiuming's paintings are a representative example within the framework of Chinese art history. Towards the end of the Quing dynasty an increase in scholarships for studying abroad tempted modern Chinese women to explore European painting. Women, who in the beginning travelled to Europe together with their husbands or brothers, like Fang Junbi and Pan Yuliang, explored Western painting only superficially. They went to Europe at the beginning of the 20th century and have a highly visible place in the history of Chinese painting. But the description of their lives and careers has been exagerated in the Chinese media these last years. Chinese artists who went abroad during the nineteen-eighties are substantially more advanced in their understanding and mastering of Western painting than the older generation. Liu Xiuming is one of the younger ones but considerably surpasses her predecessors in her artistic creativity.
 

作者：Shui,Tianzhong