Nan Liu Works

Nan Liu began to study Chinese brush painting and calligraphy at a very young age in Tianjin, China. At the age of 16, Nan was named the winner of the prestigious title, “Young Artist of Tianjin” by the Cultural Committee of Tianjin City. In 1992, he was admitted to the Oriental Art Department of Nan Kai University and majored in Chinese brush painting. Among his many teachers, he was most influenced by the renowned contemporary Chinese painter, Fan Zeng, especially by his use of simple and vigorous brush strokes emphasizing dynamic delineation form. In 1996, Nan continued his graduate study in Art Education at Capital Normal University in Beijing. In 1999, Nan came to the United Stated and studied Art Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in pursuit of his Master of Arts degree.

In 2002, Nan began his pursuit of a dual degree that included both a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and a Ph.D. in art education at Florida State University. As an emerging artist, Nan has explored various art forms in recent years, including drawing, watercolor, tempera, ink and oil painting. The subjects range in still life, figures, and landscape. Nan’s artworks promote natural and simple artistic expression. Nature has consistently served as the main theme in his works in recent years. In Nan’s recent paintings, he attempts to create a series of life-sized FAMU student figurative paintings with oil and ink medium, and tries to capture the moments that make up students’ lives on campus.

Nan’s artworks have been exhibited across the United States among public institutes, museums, and galleries. Many of his paintings and drawings have been collected by private patrons. From 2007-2023, Nan has held 16 solo art exhibitions, and participated in 108 regional, national, and international invitational or juried art exhibitions. In those exhibitions Nan has won 19 awards.