Wintry Mountains Covered with Snow

A grand peak rises above jagged cliffs, partially obscured by roiling winter storms. Reserved areas of paper create the illusion of snow, and white rifts in the brushwork convey the play of clouds over the mountain crags. These irregular gaps appear random and yet suggest a primordial fixity. To produce these effects, Liu Guosong paints on an artisanal paper in which long, coarse fibers are preserved near the paper’s surface. After applying ink to the paper with a brush and by other means, he pulls out selected filaments to achieve a pictorial effect that is simultaneously representational and abstract. Liu Guosong, founder of the Fifth Moon Group, came to prominence in Taipei in the 1950s and remained at the forefront of the movement. He had left mainland China for Taiwan in 1949. In recent years, Liu has exhibited on the mainland, and in 2007 his work was featured in the first solo exhibition ever given a living artist at the Palace Museum in Beijing. This painting was included in that landmark exhibition.