刘勃麟
Liu Bolin


1973 Shandong

Liu Bolin

Liu Bolin, born 1973 in Shandong province comes up to Beijing in 1999. He is the epitome of the up and coming: a smiling handsome young man with an angelic air who launches into his career with an energy that is barely hidden behind his air of nonchalance, whilst his assistants already refer to him respectfully as Master Liu. In 1995, he graduates from the Art Department of Shandong Arts Institute with a bachelor degree.

Liu Bolin receives a place to study sculpture at the CAFA in 1999 and graduates in 2005. He is the student and then the assistant of the sculptor Sui Jianguo from whom he will later retain the clean shapes, striking colours such as red or white, and doubtless also certain character traits like a discrete sense of humour and humility. In reality, when Liu starts to work outside of the national education circuit he is already not really a sculptor. Like many artists in China, he experiments with an abundance of mediums and techniques that fall between his hands, and above all, his work shows relevance and talent. Sculpture becomes a pretext for performance, performance is in itself painting and then painting becomes photography.

Liu Bolin lives and works in Beijing, China.