Liu Kang

Liu Kang (a.k.a. Liu Kai) (b. 1 April 1911, Yongchun County, Fujian Province, China - d. 1 June 2004, Singapore) renowned oil painter, a member of a group of pioneer local artist, and a key player in establishing a local style in the visual arts. Liu Kang not only produced a wide portfolio of works but also, through his various positions in art schools, influenced the next generation of artists and painters in Singapore.

Early life
Born in the year the Qing Dynasty fell in China, Liu Kang spent his early years in Malaya, where his father worked as a rubber merchant. A mispronunciation by his principal at Muar Primary School led to his name being changed from Liu Kai to Liu Kang. He continued his secondary school education in China at Tsinan University Middle School in 1926. During the school holidays, he took art classes at the Shanghai College of Fine Arts, later renamed Xinhua Arts Academy. Residing with his good friend, Chen Jen Hao, he came to know and fell in love with Jen Hao's sister, Chen Jen Pen. Although only in her early teens, Jen Pen's love remained and she later become Liu's wife.

Shanghai was strongly influenced by Western arts during the 1920s and 1930s, the time Liu Kang was studying art there. Liu Kang continued his art education in Paris at the Academie de Grande Chaumiere from 1929 to 1933, where he was drawn to post-impressionists such as Paul Cezanne, Paul Gaugin and Vincent Van Gogh, masters whose works continue to influence his own.

WWII
During the war years, he and his family fled back to Muar, leaving behind more than 200 paintings, almost all of which have been looted and destroyed. Liu Kang witnessed many atrocities committed by the Japanese soldiers on the local people. In 1946, after the war had ended, he published sketches of Japanese brutality on Asians in a multi-volumed work entitled Chop Suey. The series was published in both English and Chinese, and in 1991 was translated into Japanese by Professor Nakahara Michiko. Only limited copies of the original Chop Suey can be found as a complete set.

Nanyang style
Having received his art education from the best of both hemispheres, Liu Kang translated these influences and incorporated local Southeast Asian flavours to his work to create the distinct Nanyang style. This particular style, attributed to Singapore's pioneer painters, was first seen in the works of Liu Kang and fellow painters Chen Wen Hsi, Chen Chong Swee and Cheong Soo Pieng upon their return from a study-cum-painting trip in Bali in 1952. Some of his well-known paintings from this era include: Artist and Model (1954), Batik Workers (1954) and Balinese Girl in Red Sarong (undated). Liu Kang's reach however went beyond that of his peers as he continued to influence the next generation of artists through his teaching positions in the local art institutions - the Association of Chinese Artists of Singapore, the Singapore Art Society and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Art (NAFA). Besides well-known artists, some of his students include famed personalities such as Singapore's first elected president, Ong Teng Cheong.

Despite eye problems and a failed cataract transplant in 1986, Liu Kang continued to paint and exhibit his works. His most significant recent exhibition is that held in China in November 2000, after having postponed it for more than a decade due to the Tiananmen incident in 1989. Liu Kang's work has been exhibited in several other countries including France, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the USA.

Awards
1970 : the Public Service Star, Singapore
1985 : Singapore Art Society Service Award and Society of Chinese Artists Service Award
1993 : the ASEAN Creative Award, Brunei.
1996 : the Meritorious Service Medal, Singapore for "laying a firm foundation and developing a distinctive art movement in Singapore"

Positions
1946 - 1958 : President of the Society of Chinese Artists, Singapore.
1968 - 1979 : President of the Singapore Art Society
Chairman, National Day Art Exhibition Working Committee
Chairman, the Advisory Committee on Visual Arts

Timeline
1917 - 1926 : Grew up in Muar, Malaya.
1928 : Graduated in art at the Xinhua Art Academy, Shanghai, China after studying there for about three years.
1928 - 1933 : Continued his art studies in L'Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris.
1933 - 1937 : Professor of Western Painting at Shanghai College of Fine Arts
May 1937 : Wed Chen Jen Ping in Shanghai. They had met when he was only 16 and she 14 but married almost a decade later, as Liu Kang had to complete his Parisian studies. They moved to Malaya when the Japanese invaded Shanghai three months after their wedding. There he taught Art in Chong Hwa High School
1937 - 1942 : Taught Art at the Nan Chiao Teachers' Training College Singapore and Chung Cheng High School.
1941 : Returned to Muar when the Japanese attacked Singapore. There he opened a coffeeshop with his brother.
1957 : First solo exhibition at Victoria Theatre Hall.
1968 : Founding member of the Singapore Arts Society and served as its President for 10 consecutive years.
1981: Liu Kang's Retrospective Exhibition, National Museum, Singapore, one of his largest locally with 220 artworks displayed
1983 : Liu Kang Exhibition Tour in Taipei, Kaoshiung, Taichung and Tainan in Taiwan. Exhibition proceeded to Hong Kong
1993 - 1996 : Blinded in his left cornea, Liu Kang almost stopped painting until a successful cataract surgery in 1996
1997 : Liu Kang at 87 Exhibition, Singapore Art Museum.
1998 : Liu Kang at 88 Exhibition, Singapore Soka Association included 72 works of his family members
Nov 2000 : First solo exhibition in Beijing
May 2003 : Liu Kang donates his life work to the Singapore Art Museum

Family
Wife: Chen Jen Ping, sister of painter Chen Jen Hao. Came from a wealthy family of cultured government officials in Fuzhou. Liu Kang painted six portraits of her between 1927 to 1992, with the earliest painted before they married. She taught Chinese and Mathematics at Nan Hua Primary School until she retired at 58.
Sons: Liu Thai Ker (b. 23 Feb 1938), head of Housing and Development Board, URA and various arts committees; Liu Huang (1940), art teacher; Liu Liang (b. 1942), architect; Kah Teck (b. 1944), architect.
Daughter: Liu Taw Sen (b. 1947), civil servant.



Author
Bonny Tan & Ruth Creamer



References 
Liu, K. (2002). Liu Kang, drawn from life. Singapore: Singapore Art Museum.
(Call no.: RSING 759.5957 LIU)

Liu, K. (1998). Liu Kang at 88. Singapore: Singapore Soka Association.
(Call no.: RSING 759.95957 LIU) 

Reminiscence of Singapore's pioneer art masters: Liu Kang, Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi: 11 March-22 March 1994. (1994). Singapore: Singapore Mint.
(Call no.: RSING 759.95957 REM) 

Lee, S. (2003, May 31). And love is the greatest. The Straits Times, Life!

Leong W. K. (2000, March 31). He's still a work in progress. The Straits Times, Life!, pp. 1, 6-7.

Mathi, B. (1998, December 13). The portraits of my love. The Straits Times, Prime News, p. 3.

Sasitharan, T. (1989, July 21). Coloured by Time. The Straits Times, Section 2, p. 2. 

Tee, H. C. (2003, June 1). Liu Kang donates life's works to museum. The Straits Times.

Teoh, E. (1996, November 9). Happy reunion as Liu Kang gets his award. The Straits Times, p. 1.

Shocking revelations. (1991, April 6). The Straits Times, Life!, p. 9.


Further Readings
Liu, K. (2000). Journeys: Liu Kang and his art. Singapore: National Arts Council.
(Call no.: RSING 759.95957 LIU)

Low, K. C., & Dunlop, P. K. G. (Eds.). (2000). Whos who in Singapore. Singapore: Who's Who Publishing.
(Call no.: RSING 920.05957 WHO)

Liu, K. (1997). Liu Kang at 87. Singapore: National Arts Council: National Heritage Board.
(Call no.: RSING 759.95957 LIU)

Liu, K. (1993). World of Liu Kang 1993. Singapore: National Museum Art Gallery.
(Call no.: RSING 759.95957 LIU)

Liu, K. (1981). The paintings of Liu Kang. [Singapore: Liu Kang].
(Call no.: RCLOS 759.95957 LIU)

McClure, L. (1982). Portrait of an artist: Liu Kang [Videotape]. Singapore: Singapore Broadcasting Cooperation.
(Call no.: RAV 759.95957 PRO)

Ministry of Community Development. (1989). Artist: Liu Kang [Videotape]. Singapore: The Ministry.
(Call no.: RAV 759.95957 ART)

Chop Suey [Text in Japanese]. (1990). [S.I.: s. n.].
(Call no.: RSING Other 940.53595 CHO) 

Liu Kang retrospective. (1981). Singapore: Ministry of Culture and National Museum.
(Call no.: RCLOS 759.95957 LIU)

University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore. (2000, May). Liu Kang: An overview. Retrieved July 1, 2003, from www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/singapore/arts/painters/liukang/ 



The information in this article is valid as at 1997 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Personalities>>Biographies>>Artists
Painters--Singapore
Artists--Singapore
Artists--Singapore
Arts>>Painting
Arts>>Art museums, collections and exhibitions

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