1932
April 26, born Bangbu, Anhui province, though originally descends from Qingzhou, Shandong province.
1933
Father dies in war against Japan. Goes into hiding with mother in Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi and elsewhere; sister dies in exile.
1946
Establishes residence in Wuchang, Hubei province.
1948
Tests into Nanjing Republican Army School.
1949
Moves with his school to Taiwan, enters high school at the school affiliated to Taiwan Provincial Teachers’ College (now Taiwan Normal University).
1950
Publishes poetry and short stories in “Free China” and “High School Student” magazines.
1951
Tests into the fine arts department, Taiwan Normal University.
1956
Establishes the “May Painting Society” with the encouragement of Prof. Liao Jichun.
1957
Represents Taiwan and participates in “Asian Young Art Exhibition” in Tokyo.
The first exhibition of the “May Painting Society” opens in Taipei, beginning a movement.
1958
Begins to write articles about art theory to encourage modern art.
1959
Participates in Brazil’s Sao Paolo Bienal and France’s Paris Youth Biennale.
Thinking changes from completely Western toward integrating Chinese and Western elements; begins to use plaster models and pencil on canvas, and to add elements of ink painting to his oil paintings.
1960
Hired as a lecturer in the architecture department at Chung-yuan University.
1961
Married to Li Mohua.
Influenced by architecture’s theories of materials, he abandons oil and canvas, and returns to the world of ink and paper, leading the “Chinese painting modernization” movement, and developing new techniques of “rubbing ink” and “collage.”
Writes an article in response to Xu Fuhuan’s “The Return of Modern Painting,” and sets off the “battle over modern painting.”
1963
Pioneers the use of rough cotton paper—so-called Liu Kuo-sung paper—and
with this creates a new painterly style.
His work “Clouds Know No Emptiness” is collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the first time a work of his is collected.
1965
First solo exhibition at the Taiwan Museum of Art in Taipei.
Collected essays “The Road to Modern Chinese Painting” is published by Wen-Hsing Bookstore, Taipei.
1966
Second book of essays “Copy, Realism, Creation” published by Wen-hsing Bookstore, Taipei.
Recommended by Li Zhujin, wins a two-year world travel grant from the John D. Rockefeller III Foundation.
First U.S. solo exhibition held at the La Jolla Art Museum in California.
Studies printmaking at the University of Iowa for three months, travels around the U.S. for four months, lives in New York for nine months.
1967
Holds first New York solo show at Rhodes Gallery; after receiving a good review from New York Times art critic John Canaday, he is represented by the gallery.
Invited by the Nelson Museum in Kansas City, Missouri to hold a solo exhibition.
1968 Named one of Taiwan’s “Ten Outstanding Youth.”
Develops and establishes Taiwan’s “Chinese Painting Study Society”; continues to encourage the modernization of Chinese painting.
1969
Influenced by pictures of the earth taken from the moon by the American Apollo 8 spacecraft, begins the “Space Series”; the first work in the series “What Kind of Person is the Earth?” wins first prize in the American international exhibition “Mainstream ’69.
1970
At the invitation of a state university in Wisconsin, serves as visiting professor for a semester.
Invited to create a massive painting “The Sun Late at Night” for the International Expo in Osaka, Japan.
1971
Hired as professor in art department of Chinese University of Hong Kong, moves to Hong Kong. Creates a course in “modern Chinese painting.”
1972
Named chairman of art department at Chinese University of Hong Kong.
1973
Initiates a “modern Chinese painting for laymen” course and runs it through the extension school of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in order to foster the creative work of modern ink painting.
Famous British art historian Sullivan publishes “The Meeting of Eastern and Western Art” in England, positively assessing Liu’s works.
Begins serious experimentation with ink rubbing.
1974
Publishes the article “Debating Painting Technique,” introduces his hugely controversial theories of “overturning the middlebrow” and “overturning the brush.”
1975
France publishes the book “Abstract Art,” and mentions the work “What Kind of Person is the Earth?”
At the invitation of the University of Iowa, serves as visiting professor for one year.
1976
Initiates and chairs the fourth Asian International Art Education meeting at Chinese University of Hong Kong; elected as Asian representative to the International Art Education Association.
Resigns from post as department chair; turns completely to pedagogy and creation.
Sullivan’s “A Short History of Chinese Art” is published by the University of California Berkeley, and names Liu as the creator of a new group.
1977
Chosen as Asian representative among the eight official painters of the British Commonwealth; goes to Canada to realize the work “Commonwealth Print.”
1978
Named board member of the Taipei City Museum of Art.
New York University professor Conrad Schirokauer writes “A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations,” naming Liu as a representative figure in Taiwanese art and re-printing Liu’s theoretical article in the book.
1979
Wins artistic prize from the International Mediation Society.
1980
Invited by the art museums of Iowa and Illinois, spends a year as visiting artist. While in the U.S., he delivers lectures and master classes at numerous colleges, universities, on educational television stations and art museums.
1981
Invited to Beijing to participate in meeting an exhibition held by Chinese Painting Research Institute.
Listed in America’s “Who’s Who?”
1982
Conrad Schirokauer’s “Modern China and Japan” published in England, listing Liu as a representative Taiwanese painter.
1983
Holds solo exhibition at China Art Museum in Beijing, invited by Central Academy of Fine Arts to give lectures, exhibition then travels to 18 cities throughout China, as far north as Harbin and as far west as Lanzhou and Urumqi.
1984
Beijing’s People’s Art Publishing House releases “Paintings by Liu Kuo-sung.”
Participates in Beijing’s “6th National Art Exhibition,” wins the “special prize” in conjunction with Li Keran.
1985
Invited by France’s “May Painting Salon,” his painting “Deeply Inside the Mountain’s Breath” is exhibited in Paris.
Invited by the China Institute of Arts and Handicrafts, serves two weeks as a visiting professor, teaching modern ink painting.
1986
Visits the Silk Road region.
Having brought the ink-rubbing technique to maturity, begins exploration and experiment with light ink painting.
1987
August, travels to Tibet. The experience becomes the foundation for a major change in his work in the “Tibetan Landscape Series.”
1988
Invited to participate in the “International Ink Painting Exhibition” and “Ink Painting Research Conference” organized by the Chinese painting Research Institute in Beijing, he publishes the article “Some Conceptual Questions in Contemporary Chinese Painting.”
1989
Invited to serve as a critic for the “National Modern Painting Competition” in Beijing.
Invited by American Express, he paints a five-story mural entitled “Source” (19.52 x 3.66m)
1990
Major retrospective at the Taipei City Museum of Art, accompanied by an exhibition catalogue.
1991
Wins the “modern painting achievement award” from the Li Zhongsheng Modern Painting Foundation.
1992
Invited to participate in scholarly conference “Eastern Aesthetics and Modern Art” at the Taipei City Museum of Art; publishes pedagogical theory of “first seek the different, then seek the good.”
Sixty year retrospective held at Taiwan Provincial Museum of Art, Taichung.
October, retires from post at Chinese University of Hong Kong, returns to live in Taichung, and becomes visiting professor at Donghai University.
1995
Participates in “Taiwanese Contemporary Ink Painting Exhibition” at the Taiwanese Cultural Representative Office in Paris.
1996
Named head of fine arts research institute at Tainan Art Institute.
Taipei History Museum invites Liu to hold “Liu Kuo-sung Research Exhibition.”
1997
Invited to participate in “Chinese Art” exhibition and conference at the Shanghai Art Museum.
1998
Invited to participate in “China: 5000 Years” exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York.
Invited by the German Cultural Institute, he travels through Europe, and participates in “Expectation 2000: Chinese Modern Art Exhibition.”
1999 Retires from Tainan Art Institute.
Holds solo exhibition “The Universe and My Heart” at the Zhongshan National Gallery in Taipei.
2000
Participates in the “Gate of the New Century” exhibition at the Chengdu Art Museum.
Invited to lecture at Tibet University, travels to Zhumulangma Mountain, suddenly loses hearing in his left ear.
Travels to New York for a solo exhibition.
2001
Invited to New York to participate in “China Without Limits” exhibition; visits Washington D.C., San Francisco, and elsewhere.
Holds “The West is Far Away: Paintings by Liu Kuo-sung” exhibition at Chengdu Art Museum.
2002
“Heart of the Universe: A Retrospective of Liu Kuo-sung at 70” tours among the China History Museum in Beijing, Shanghai Art Museum, Guangdong Museum of Art, and Taipei.
Liu’s work “The Metaphysics of Rocks” is included in the “Eastern Cultural History” textbook published by the U.S. Wadsworth Group.