This exhibition moves people. It moves people in the following ways. First, in the academic aspect, we have rediscovered Liu Shiming. In this media era, it is basically impossible to discover an artist. We often say that we discovered artists of the era of Vincent van Gogh. Liu Shiming is a loner, one of the rare people who have been forgotten by the times. In the 1950s, he created works well known to the public. Later he moved away from the mainstream of our art and vanished beyond all the art movements. Now, we have found him again, and we discovered that his world of sculpture is such a rich, lush and vast one. 

Second, in terms of art history, Liu is of great value to the contemporary academic research on sculpture. His path is distinctive. Modern Chinese sculpture is derived from modern Western sculpture, and Liu was once in this system. But there is another important source of sculpture that has been forgotten, that is, traditional Chinese sculpture. There are two types of traditional Chinese sculptures. One is the literati sculpture supported by the royal family as seen in Dunhuang, Yungang, and Longmen grottoes. The other is the simple sculptures scattered in the countryside of China. Liu’s works belong to the latter, and his character and temperament are also closely related to this type of sculpture. He has risen above initial education, transcended the dominant sculptural language, and made new discoveries. Through Liu’s works, we identify the other source of Chinese sculpture that remains vigorous. 

Third, while we are all leading a very urban life, Liu Shiming focuses on rural China and the ordinary people of China, which is invaluable. 

Last but not least, from the aesthetic perspective, his works require us to slow down and feel the many touching details that exist in ordinary life and rural life. They are not shown off so you will need to slow down to really see them.