「Look at the Picture and Talk about the Painting」Liu Ye, a mixed-blood of modern art

On June 5th, at the preview of Yongle Auction, Liu Ye’s “Mozart” once again became the focus of the art circle. A cartoon “Zhang Ailing” sold for 42.55 million yuan – how could Liu Ye’s paintings be so “expensive”? The answer lies in his paintings: a mixed-blood of modern art.

The market’s enthusiasm is a recognition of the cross-cultural “mixed-blood aesthetics”. The sweet style clashes with the eerie atmosphere, with the sugar coating concealing existentialist loneliness. In “Mozart”, the childhood image is restless, the unique light and shadow convey the classical solemnity; the round girl freezes into a self-portrait of the contemporary spirit in the empty background, the teary “Ruan Lingyu” reinterprets the classic and reflects the predicament of the times.

When viewers are attracted by the large color blocks, they fall into his “trap”: Mondrian’s color blocks symbolize order and discipline, the tilted composition and falling burning, shattering the fairy tale filter, exposing the absurd essence of postmodernism. Traditional and modern, Eastern poetry and Western philosophy, are presented on the canvas. He uses “mixed-blood” to stitch together cultural cracks, in the gap between sweetness and cruelty, he sees the contemporary world!

Today’s tea has run out. Next time, I’ll make some new ones and accompany you to enjoy art.