GRAND OPENING Campus Life by Dr. Nan Liu

The Mattie Kelly Arts Center Galleries were packed with people on January 27, for the grand opening of the new exhibit Campus Life by Dr. Nan Liu. The exhibition included oil and Chinese-style paintings of Liu’s students at Florida A&M University. Liu, a classically trained Chinese painter and contemporarily trained portrait painter displayed his proficiency in both traits during the opening night event.

“As an artist, your subject is what is most important, what you choose to paint,” said Dr. Nan Liu during his artists talk. “Searching my surroundings, I see the students here; they are so colorful and upbeat and so full of energy. So that is how I started this series of oil paintings for Campus Life.”

After art enthusiasts perused the gallery, Nan Liu’s wife Dr. Haiqiong Deng played traditional Chinese tunes on the 27-stringed Chinese instrument the gu zheng. Following the musical repertoire, Liu talked about his oil painting techniques and then took the crowd into the adjoining gallery for a live demonstration of traditional Chinese painting. To round out the evening, Liu did a live portrait painting.

In his artist statement, Liu explained that Florida A&M University is an historically African American college and most of his students are African American. He said he is inspired by their youthful energy, bold colors, creativity, and sense of self and that is what he hopes to capture in his portraits.

“I try to alternate styles of art every January,” said Mattie Kelly Art Galleries Curator J. Wren Supak. “I wanted to honor black history month and I also wanted the faculty here to have different media to be able to teach from.”