Liao: One Of The Most Celebrated Printmaking Artists
Earlier this year, Taiwan’s Council for Cultural Affairs honored graphic artist Liao Shiou-ping one of three National Cultural Awards. The 74-year-old artisan, famous for mixing Western printmaking methods with conventional Taiwanese as well as Chinese influences, was recognized for his exceptional contribution to Taiwan heritage.
He was born in Taiwan in 1936. Liao’s father was a civil engineer and as a young child, Liao would often explore the building plans spread across his father’s workdesk. His family resided in close proximity to Taipei’s famed Longshan Temple and he drew on recollections of the candles, incense and ghost money for much of his later work. Right after graduating as a painter from the National Taiwan Normal University in 1959, he moved to Tokyo, Japan, and after that to Paris, France, to further his studies. While in Japan, Liao had taken graphic design lessons, an extra program to his major studies, and here learned priceless training in color and composition. It had been here, also, that he discovered printmaking.
Liao started to learn oil painting at the Fine Arts Institute of Paris in 1965 and was pushed by his teacher to discover a one-of-a-kind form for himself. He will devote much of his time wandering the collections of Chinese artifacts in the Guimet Museum that reminded him of the things he witnessed as a child in Longshan Temple. Liao developed the Gate series, his first, during this time, making a distinctively Eastern print style.
In 1969, Liao obtained an invite to exhibit at the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art. Liao decided to transfer to New York with his family. Here, Liao made his Symbols collection; inspiration stemmed from the images and customs surrounding the Taiwanese Ghost Month. Liao believed that “an artist’s style shows the rhythms of the world that he lives in.” His works from this time period happen to be solidly geometric indicating the proportion of the city.
The artist came back to Taiwan in 1973 in order to teach at the National Taiwan Normal University and one year later, published The Art of Printmaking, still “the gold standard of introductory texts on the subject in the Chinese language.” Liao then followed this teaching job with a couple of years educating in Tokyo and the United States. Vegetables, fruits, cookware as well as potted plants feature greatly in Liao’s Seasons series, a collection which in turn progressed right into both the Gathering and Chat series.
His most recent works are the ones under the Knots, Life Symbols and Dreams collection. Knots evolved from his frustration with people who find it difficult to appreciate their own success. Life Symbols (2000) is made up of mixed media collage items making use of oil as well as acrylic paint, pencil drawing, wooden slabs and 2D painting and printmaking. He says these works voice “the concealed natural order that permeates even the intricacy of modern life, and likewise a type of celebratory delight.”
During his career, Liao Shiou-ping has held more than 70 solo displays in New York, Paris, Tokyo as well as many other cities all over the world. Liao’s artworks are collected by international museums and galleries including the British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo), Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Shanghai Museum. Liao established the Prix de Paris fund with two other teachers in 1993. The fund provides help for young artists to be able to study overseas.
Printmaking is a very wide medium in art and can be studied nearly anywhere, in art schools or from printmaking artists. Once you know basic principles, you will find there are several methods to make a really good print.
Studying Chinese at NTNU Shida University, Taipei, Taiwan (Russian TV)