LIU SHIMING ART FOUNDATION PARTNERS WITH MACAULAY HONORS COLLEGE

The partnership includes a sculpture installation and ceremony, auction donation and panel discussion surrounding the work and legacy of Chinese sculptor Liu Shiming

NEW YORK, April 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- At a special event on April 11, 2023 at Macaulay Honors College, the Liu Shiming Art Foundation formally donated the sculpture, "Dream to Fly," to the school as part of their ongoing efforts to continue Liu Shiming's legacy.

The partnership with Macaulay is part of a larger network of programs established with universities around the world, created with the goal of extending Liu Shiming's passion for cultivating and growing a global arts discourse that recognizes our common humanity. Each year, Macaulay students from all eight CUNY campuses will be invited to complete an application for the Liu Shiming Opportunities Fund grant, and one student will be selected to use the grant to pursue a study abroad program, internship, or independent research activity related to art, culture, language or history.

Liu Shiming created the sculpture, originally titled "Someone who wants to fly," to commemorate Jiang Feng, a famous printmaker and art educator in China, and one of Shiming's teachers when he studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. "This sculpture embodies Shiming's belief that whether the person who wants to fly actually succeeds is not important; the important thing is the moment he raises his wings to try. We hope the idea behind this sculpture inspires Macaulay students and serves as a reminder Shiming's valuable lesson to always take the risk to pursue your dreams," shared Liu Shiming Art Foundation board member Geoffrey M. Glick. The sculpture will permanently be on display at the West 67^th Street campus.

In conjunction with the donation of "Dream to Fly," the Liu Shiming Art Foundation and Macaulay Honors College hosted a panel discussion surrounding the work and life of Liu Shiming. The panel was moderated by Maria Cristina Pio, Director of Education and Administration at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College and included the first Macaulay student to receive the Liu Shiming Scholars Fund grant, Angela Goh. Other members of the panel were Fran Kaufman, partner of Kaufman Vardy Projects, Louise Weinberg curator, visual artist and photographer, and Sin-Ying Ho Associate Professor at Queens College.

In addition to the events that took place on April 11, 2023, the Liu Shiming Art Foundation will be auctioning off three sculptures at the Macaulay Honors College Gala on April 24, 2023, at Bohemian National Hall. Auction items will include a smaller version of "Dream to Fly," a stainless-steel replica of "Eagle Tripod," and a stainless-steel replica of "Tiger Jar."

About The Liu Shiming Art Foundation

The Liu Shiming Art Foundation was founded in 2021 to preserve the works of acclaimed Chinese artist Liu Shiming, as well as for the advancement of the global discourse surrounding the arts, history and culture. The fund aims to support art students and emerging artists by encouraging the creation of all forms of art and multicultural study. The Foundation goals are to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of Asian art forms and to contextualize them within a global purview. Engaging students and artists to conceptualize the creative process by focusing on a multicultural East and West perspective should be fundamental to the human experience. The foundation aims to create an engaged platform that collectively support the creation of arts, the study of art history and culture. It also shares aesthetic meanings, inclusiveness, and humanities of the art.

About Liu Shiming:

Liu Shiming (1926-2010) was a revered Chinese sculptor, whose works have made a distinct impact on the course of modern Chinese sculpture art. Born in 1926, Shiming attended the Central Academy of Fine. As early as 1950, Shiming received international recognition for his work Measuring Land, and thereafter, Shiming continued to make large-scale and publicly displayed sculptures. In the 1960s, Shiming resided in the countryside of Henan and Hebei provinces, where he gained a unique perspective on the working class and rural life. His time outside of the city, and closely handling folk art works in local museums, inspired Shiming to focus on everyday scenes in his works, becoming a common theme of Shiming sculptures. Today, Shiming is recognized for his ability to beautifully capture the most mundane scenes, as well as his aptitude for fusing folk traditions with modern sensibilities.

Liu Shiming works have been displayed in prominent galleries and spaces across the globe, including exhibitions in Beijing, Washington D.C., and most notably a special exhibition in the main atrium of the Oculus in New York City. In 2018, the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing founded the Liu Shiming Sculpture Museum, dedicated to researching and investigating Liu's artworks and their historical significance.

MEDIA CONTACT
LIU SHIMING ART FOUNDATION – LINDA LIANG 
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SOURCE Liu Shiming Art Foundation