The artist behind the author

For Liu, the connection is inseparable. "These paintings are my heart and soul," he says. "When I look at them, I feel renewed."

He is keen, however, to correct a common assumption: writing may be what most people know him for, but painting came first.

"I want people to see the whole of my world," he explains. "Writing is familiar to readers. But painting — that's my true profession."

That claim is not rhetorical. Liu showed early promise as a painter in his teens. He studied under Hu Nianzu (1927-2019), a respected figure in the mountain-and-water style of classical Chinese painting who hailed from Hunan province. And he won prizes in school art competitions.

His technical foundation was solid from the start. One of the earliest works in the exhibition — a 3.5-meter handscroll of historical figures completed in 1964 when he was just 15 — demonstrates both discipline and ambition.

Another early piece, created in 1966, captures cascading mountain springs shrouded in mist. It was inspired by a grueling winter hike. "It rained heavily. The paths were muddy and dangerous," Liu recalls. "I came home soaked. But instead of resting, I painted it and finished in about an hour.

"When I see it now, I remember that feeling — the energy and enthusiasm of a 17-year-old."

Liu went on to study fine arts at Taiwan Normal University, graduating in 1972 before taking a position as a high school art teacher.

Throughout the 1970s, he exhibited and wrote about Chinese painting in Taiwan, as well as cities in Europe and the United States.

Even as his literary career gained prominence, he never abandoned painting. Instead, the two practices evolved in parallel — each informing the other.

While his artistic influences are rooted in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), widely considered the pinnacle of Chinese art, Liu has never been content with imitation. Living and working in the West exposed him to new ideas, prompting him to experiment with unconventional techniques.

One such method involves spraying ink through a tube — a practice inspired by a childhood chore. As a boy, he helped his mother smooth wrinkled bedsheets by blowing water across the fabric. He also manipulates paper, repeatedly wrinkling and ironing it to create textured surfaces that interact unpredictably with ink.