The exhibition is entitled Lui Shiming: A Chinese Original
New York, NY – The Central Academy of Fine Arts is pleased to report the successful hosting of the exhibition of the works of renowned sculptor Liu Shiming, in celebration of the Chinese New Year.
Liu Shiming (1926-2010), one of China’s most accomplished sculptors, spent a lifetime absorbing China’s cultural traditions and expressing them in his own delightful way. Liu’s work is well known in China, but has never been presented in the West – until now. The exhibition, Liu Shiming: A Chinese Original, is part of a globally traveling exhibition organized by the Central Academy of Fine Arts. 
Throughout the highly anticipated exhibition, 56 sculptures covered Liu’s full career of more than half a century. The talented sculptor loved people and frequently used laborers, parents, and infants as inspiration for his work. Liu spent many years traveling China to fully understand people and their customs and recreated their lives through sculpture, guided by ancient Chinese art styles.
Curator Jenny Roosevelt thinks of the exhibition as a “Chinese original.”
“Shiming truly represents the mentality and the heart of Chinese people,” says Roosevelt. “His work is so reflective of the Chinese spirit and their everyday life.”
The spellbinding display was divided into four parts, starting with “Innocence,” which features Liu’s love for sculpting small children. The “Roots” section shows Liu’s reverence for his predecessors, while “Working” reflects the importance he placed on ordinary laborers and a good day’s work. Finally, “Individuals” celebrates people and animals creating and pursing their own particular lives, just as Liu himself did.
Liu Shiming: A Chinese Original was hosted from January 29th to 31st, 2020, at The Oculus, World Trade Center, Church St, New York, NY 10006.
Public reaction to Shiming’s work has been overwhelmingly positive, with visitors from all over the world commenting on how meaningful some of the pieces are to them on a personal level.
“I think it speaks to the universality of art,” comments one visitor. “There are certain ideas and trends that transcend all the different cultures in humanity.”
Andy Serwer, Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo Finance, comments that the exhibition is being held in a great location:
“This is one of the most public places in New York City, and, in fact, the world. A lot of people will just stumble across it by accident, which is great. This work deserves a wide audience.”
And Phil Roosevelt, Managing Editor of Barron's, commented:
”This is really for the real people of New York to see the art, which is real people from China. These works are all about people.”
Liu Shiming: A Chinese Original was a collaborative event hosted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the World Trade Center, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the Asian Cultural Center USA. The event was organized by the Asian Cultural Center USA, the Liu Shiming Sculpture Museum at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and co-organized by PLC Ltd. Inc., Academic Advisor Shaojun Wang, and Curator Jenny Roosevelt.
For more information about Liu Shiming, please visit https://www.lsmsculpture.com/.
About Liu Shiming
Liu Shiming believed that sculpture should be focused on people and the depiction of people, because people are social beings and creators of art. Liu once said that “when we lose people and the human spirit, art loses its soul.”
On December 24, 2018, the Central Academy of Fine Arts established the Liu Shiming Sculpture Museum, which is dedicated to researching and investigating Liu’s artworks and their art historical meaning. Liu Shiming was part of CAFA’s first generation of Chinese sculptors trained after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. He had significant training in ancient and modern Western sculpture, and his artistic achievements were recognized as early as the 1950s.