Acclaimed sculptor Liu Yonggang's most famous art series, The Standing Characters, is on display at the Four Seasons hotel under the theme "Love Hug". The works are brought into the visitors' vision while being naturally placed in meticulously chosen corners of the hotel lobby.

Created in stone, bronze and steel, each of the three-dimensional "standing characters" features both the shape of a meaningful Chinese character and the posture of two people hugging each other.

Having studied art in Germany for more than a decade, Liu is best known for his stone sculptures that draw inspiration from ancient characters, such as oracles, Mongolians and ancient script.

His "standing characters" series provides a brand new perspective to appreciate the shape and meaning of Chinese calligraphy.

It has had two influential displays at Beijing's China Millennium Monument Square and the National Art Museum of China.

From the artist's point of view, his creations of spatial characters do not necessarily have "pronunciation" or "meaning", but they do convey visual power through the pictographic essence of Chinese characters.

Liu's works are part of the hotel's vibrARTion project, an international initiative started in China. The project focuses on Chinese texture. It explores the essence of oriental art and the philosophy of both traditional and current trends, and centers on various contemporary art forms, such as sculpture, installation, video and painting.

The art collection includes Qin Feng's Landscape of Desires No 4 and 5, a piece specially commissioned for the hotel's reception.

An ink-wash painting and calligraphy work, the painting depicts the Chinese spirit of wu (dance) - the pinnacle of rhythm, movement and passion and the most desirable state of artistic expression. Qin's striking copper installation, Romancing the Metal, is inspired by the style of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) master calligrapher Huai Su and graces the lobby entrance.

Australian artist Jayne Dyer's Butterfly Effect in Beijing 2012, is also a specially commissioned piece based on the image of Chinese peacock butterfly. The captivating installation incorporates 400 polished and powder-coated stainless-steel butterflies soaring up the main atrium wall from the hotel's tea garden to the skylight 66 meters above.

The hotel's general manager Sanjiv Hulegalle says China, and Beijing in particular, is now considered to be one of the top contemporary art regions in the world.

"As a window to the city, we want to ensure whatever we feature inside the hotel is entirely reflective of what is going on outside it. We're indebted to the artists involved who have made the collection what it is and really hope it inspires our guests to further explore Beijing's thriving contemporary art scene," he says.

hanbingbin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/03/2013 page15)