Liu Jipiao (Chinese: 刘既漂), (1900–1992) was a Chinese architect associated with the development of Art Deco architecture in China and an oil painter of Realism.[1][2] Liu's approach to architecture was to create a modern design with a distinctive Chinese aesthetic. Liu is remembered as the first Chinese Art Deco architect.[3][4]

Liu Jipiao
Born(1900-06-04)June 4, 1900
Died1992 (aged 91–92)
Toms River, Ocean County, New Jersey, United States
NationalityChinese, American
Other namesTeìpeìou Liou (in France)
Alma materUniversity of Paris,
L’Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts
Occupation(s)Architect, Realism Painter
Known forFirst Chinese Art Deco Architect
Notable workCarlton Building (Shanghai)
SpousePan Fengxiao
Websiteliujipiao.com

Early life and education

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On June 4, 1900, Liu was born in Meizhou, Guangdong, China.[5] Liu's family had wealth from owning a silk dying factory.[1][6] At a young age Liu took an interest in porcelain as well as Chinese and Western painting.[5]

In 1919, Liu studied at University of Paris and by 1922 he moved to L’Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts to study architecture and interior design.[6] He travelled to Paris with Chinese artists Lin Fengmian and Lin Wenzheng and he connected with Chinese artists living in Paris, such as Xu Beihong.[5] Liu was in a Paris-based art club in college called Phoebus Society, with fellow artists; Lin Wenzheng (1903–1930), Wang Daizhi and Wu Dayo (1903–1988).[7]

Career

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In 1924, Liu exhibited fifteen paintings at Exposition Chinoise d’art ancien et moderne.[8] He was then invited to contribute to China's pavilion section of the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in 1925.[9][4] His design for the entrance, which included a dragon and a phoenix, won awards from the French government.[10] This new, modern design style presented at the expo became later known as Art Deco, and this expo was one of the earliest displays.[4]

His large scale oil painting, Yang Guifei after the Bath is one of his better known painted works.[2]

In 1929, Liu returned to China and become a professor at the Nanjing University.[6] Between 1932 until 1937 he ran an architecture firm in the Nanjing, China, specializing in modern buildings.[5] Liu received commissions to design residential buildings, including the Carlton Building on Huanghe Lu.

Personal life

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In 1932 he married artist Pan Fengxiao.[5] After the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and rise of communism, in 1947, Liu and his family fled from China to United States.[1] In the United States, Liu ran a Laundromat and then a chicken farm.[3] By 1965, Liu retired from architecture and focused more on fine arts like painting and watercolor.[5]

In 1992, Liu died at the age of 92 in Toms River, New Jersey.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Amandari Kanagaratnam (2015-06-14). "Liu Jipiao & the Birth of Chinese Art Deco • Shanghai Art Deco". Shanghaiartdeco.net. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  2. ^ a b Sullivan, Michael (2006). Modern Chinese Artists: A Biographical Dictionary. University of California Press. ISBN 0520244494.
  3. ^ a b "Three key architects of Shanghai's Art Deco era". Time Out Shanghai. Time Out Group Ltd. 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2017-06-08. ...is remembered as the first Chinese Art Deco architect
  4. ^ a b c Athineos, Doris (2017-10-19). "The Carpets Design Pros Covet? Chinese Art Deco Rugs". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Wong, Jennifer (2013). "Newsletter: 'The Chinese Art Deco architect of the 1925 Paris Expo' – My grandfather" (PDF). International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS). Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  6. ^ a b c Denison, Edward (2017). Architecture and the Landscape of Modernity in China before 1949. Routledge. ISBN 1317179285.
  7. ^ Andrews, Julia F. (2012). The Art of Modern China. California: University of California Press. ISBN 0520238141.
  8. ^ Pejčochová, Michaela (2017). "Modern Chinese Painting & Europe New Perceptions, Artists Encounters, and the Formation of Collections" (PDF). Reimer. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  9. ^ Clunas, Craig (1989). "Chinese Art and Chinese Artists in France (1924-1925)". Arts Asiatiques. 44 Numéro 1: 100–106 – via Persée.
  10. ^ Ashley Thorpe (21 September 2016). Performing China on the London Stage: Chinese Opera and Global Power, 1759–2008. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 85–. ISBN 978-1-137-59786-1.
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