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Press Release

"Phantoms of Cutting and Sawing - Exhibit by Liu Bang-Han" American Cultural Center October 5 - December 27, 2000

The American Cultural Center lobby display cases will present an exhibition titled "Phantoms of Cutting and Sawing - Exhibit by Liu Bang-han," October 5 - December 27, 2000. The exhibition presents Liu's recent works focusing on the aesthetics of the art of woodworks.

The American Cultural Center lobby is open to the public from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon until 6 p.m. through Saturday. It is closed Sundays and holidays. The American Cultural Center is located at 54 Nan Hai Road, Taipei.

Liu Bang-han has taught at the craft department of the National Taiwan Academy of the Arts, now the National Taiwan College of the Arts since 1980. During his twenty years of teaching, Liu has indulged himself in the environment of arts and creating woodworks in addition to teaching through the years. His works have received grand prizes from National Crafts Award and Traditional Crafts Awards hosted by the Council for Cultural Affairs. He has several solo exhibits and has participated group exhibits, totalling more than a hundred shows. His works have been widely collected by museum and private sectors. To better promote public understanding and appreciation of the art of wood, Liu frequently teaches Life-time Learning Workshops and Family Learning Workshops. In addition, he has established the Woodpecker's Studio to promote the art of woodworks into daily life.

Wood is one of the important resources in our environment. Various wood made vessels and furniture have accompanied human beings for centuries. As an artist, Liu has endless curiosity about common objects, especially the wood objects. He creates dialogue among material, skills and the work of wood with thoughts and minds, and expands the possibilities of the ancient craft of woodwork. Exploring the characters of the material to the functions of forms, to the movement of the lines on the forms, Liu has developed "Inlay Painting on Wood," "The Layering of Wooden Box" and "The Art of Mortised Forms". They reveal the various directions in woodworks which bridge art and daily life.

The characteristic of Liu's works is his various ways of combination. He uses thin layers of wood to construct paintings; combines woods of different textures and tones into forms; separates wood with delicate lines into beautiful individual forms, and then put these forms together as one. In the arrangement of negative and positive structures, Liu merges traditional and modern technologies with Eastern philosophy in his subject matter. His woodwork is rich in appearances, warm in contacts and filled with a sense of humor.

The works in this exhibit are created in traditional geometric and symmetric composition. Liu, however, also employs delicate and simple lines into his work and displays the beauty of the irregular texture, values and tones of the wood, in addition to presenting the charm and fantasy of wood. With his affection for wood and his concept of environmental protection, Liu discloses his love for the land and the fragrance of the forest with his craftsmanship and brand new perspective. From his works, we can perceive a new vision of woodwork as well as the re-birth of Taiwan forest in his art.