Title: A Fable in the Valley
Artist: Liu Xiaoning
Series：The Gaze Upon Tibet
Year: 2020
Size: 150 × 200 cm
Medium:Oil on Canvas
Framing: Unframed — Stretched Canvas (Ready to Hang)
ID: MBA-2025-041
This large-format oil on canvas measuring 150 × 200 cm is a concentrated embodiment of Liu Xiaoning’s artistic language. Centered on snow-capped mountains, a herder, and a flock, the work unfolds under clear light and gentle tones, presenting a visual structure that balances narrative clarity with poetic resonance.
Liu Xiaoning’s practice is defined by a subtle equilibrium between legibility and naïveté. His paintings are not abstract, yet they do not cling to strict realism—one can plainly recognize the scene and figures while also sensing a childlike romance and warmth. Achieving this balance is exceptionally difficult: “naïveté,” if mishandled, can slip into mere childishness; whereas overemphasis on figuration can strip the work of its spiritual freedom and lightness.
Drawing on extensive experience and keen perception, Liu establishes a stable order of language between these poles. With restrained brushwork, pure color, and concise composition, he allows the painting to be at once narrative and lyrical—maintaining rational structure while retaining a palpable sense of warmth and sincerity.
This balance is realized most fully in large-scale works. The expansive pictorial field enables a more open attitude and freer rhythm, allowing his matured sense of childlike wonder to evolve into an artistic spirit that is distinctly his own.
Each piece comes with the artist’s hand-signed Certificate of Authenticity,
ensuring the originality and collectible integrity of the work.
