The Man Who Rides A Cormorant by Liu Shiming Photo: IC

On Monday, Beijing's Liu Shiming Sculpture Museum announced at a press conference that it will be arranging a series of exhibitions in cities in the US and Australia later this year focusing on the artworks of renowned Chinese sculptor Liu Shiming.

During the conference held at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing, scholars and experts also discussed the academic value of Liu's work, which combines elements of traditional Chinese art and culture and Western techniques and skills.

Born in 1926 in North China's Tianjin, Liu was admitted in 1946 to CAFA, which at the time was known as the National Art School. The school established the Liu Shiming Sculpture Museum in June 2018.

The artist has participated in the creation of many well-known sculptures in China, such the relief sculptures on the foundation of the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square, the torchbearers at the Beijing Workers' Stadium, and brave soldiers at the National Museum of Military History.

Besides the milestone works, Liu also enjoyed employing simple materials such as clay, or items from daily life such as popsicle sticks, to create his art. The themes of his work often focused on the ordinary people and the realities of life.

"Research on Liu Shiming's artworks started in 1990s," Yin Shuangxi, a professor at CAFA, said at the conference.

"Such studies will boost the development of modern Chinese sculpture. In particular, it supports and encourages the study of Chinese, folk art and artists," he added.

"During the reform and opening-up, Chinese artists were eager to learn more about Western art and learn from it. Yet right at that time, Liu steered away from such a trend. Instead, he threw himself into art creations depicting the people and their lives in China's rural areas," said Fan Di'an, president of CAFA.