Liu Kang | Reclining Nude

Since the late Renaissance, the human figure has traditionally been considered the best way of learning how to draw, a practice that continues until today. Liu Kang’s early formal training in Shanghai in the 1920s coincided with the period when a life drawing class with a nude female model was a controversial novelty in China. However, it became an accepted part of the curriculum by the time he began teaching at the Shanghai Art Academy in the 1930s. Over the years, Liu continued to seek out experiences that enabled him to study and express the intricacies of the human form. In the 1990s, he joined Group 90, an artist collective focused on life drawing and the development of figurative art in Singapore. This work on paper would have been executed at one of their regular Saturday morning sessions. The pastel medium is well adapted for capturing the sensual qualities of light and flesh tones. 

Born in 1911 in Yongchun, in Fujian, China, Liu Kang was a pioneer of modern Singaporean art. His style epitomises the synthesis of elements from both Eastern and Western art traditions, which is a hallmark of the Nanyang art style. The artist spent his childhood years in Muar, Malaya and moved to Singapore with his young family after World War II. Liu played a significant role in the local arts community, serving as the President of the Society of Artists from 1946 to 1957 and co-founding the Singapore Art Society in 1949. In 2003, he donated over 1,000 paintings, pastel works and sketches to the National Heritage Board.