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 Meizhou, Guangdong, China |
| Died | 1992 (aged 91–92) Toms River, Ocean County, New Jersey, United States |
| Nationality | Chinese, American |
| Other names | Teìpeìou Liou (in France) |
| Alma mater | University of Paris, L’Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts |
| Occupation | Architect, Realism Painter |
| Known for | First Chinese Art Deco Architect |
| Notable work | Carlton Building (Shanghai) |
| Spouse | Pan Fengxiao |
| Website | liujipiao |
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]
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.
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]
...is remembered as the first Chinese Art Deco architect