Liu Fantian

CHINA, Jiangsu, Nanjing

Liu Fantian’s original name is Daofan, but is commonly known by his alias, Fantian. Influenced by his father at a young age, Liu began painting and became especially good at depicting Buddhist and Daoist figures. He is a National Senior Artist, a senior member of the Chinese Arts Society, and a professor in the Department of Arts at Southeast University in Nanjing.
He is renowned for his expertise in creating Buddhist images, and is particularly skilled in combining long themes, calligraphy, seal carving, and painting into one body of work. His work, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, was painted in flowing lines and an elegant color theme, emulating the style of paintings seen during the Tang dynasty (618–907).
In 1980 Liu was in charge of the design of the main Buddha and Skanda sculptures in Maitreya Hall, and the 20 Heavenly Beings in Vairocana Hall at Qixia Temple in Jiangsu. In 2002, he created the stone wall sculptures of Bodhidharma and Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty for Jiming Temple, also in Jaingsu. In 2007, he painted a series of 21 paintings depicting Master Jianzhen’s Journey to Japan. The paintings were later presented to the Jianzhen Library in Daming Temple, Jiangsu, where it is exhibited.