Liu Chengrui was born in Qinghai in 1983 and grew up in a semi-nomadic family. In 2005, he graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at Qinghai Normal University and currently lives and works in Beijing. His works encompass performance art, painting, and writing. The “Ten-Year Plan” initiated at Qinghai Lake in 2006 serves as the humanistic cornerstone of his creations. Through the “agreement” that connects numerous participants, they collectively reshape their life scenes and social identities. Liu’s works strive to approach one’s willpower and the poetic essence in daily life, presenting strong personal beliefs and complex spiritual realities through the imagery of mythology, allegory, and consumerism. Poetry, as the source of imagination, is central to his creative process. He operates a daily-updated poetry platform called “Punishing Pride” and has independently published poetry anthologies including Grief (2017), So the River (2013), and Which Way to East (2004).

Liu Chengrui’s major solo exhibitions include “Sir, you’re a true laborer”, MadeIn Gallery, Shanghai, 2023; “Tiger’s Laughing Mouth”, MadeIn Art Museum, Shanghai, 2023; “Hello Spring”, Cai Jin Space, Beijing (2022); “Pagan”, MadeIn Gallery, Shanghai (2016); “Into the Sun”, X Gallery, Beijing (2015); “So The River”, A4 Contemporary Arts Center, Chengdu (2013); “Our Backgrounds are All the Same”, Vitamin Creative Space, Beijing (2011). Major group exhibitions include “Cloud Sculpture, The First Invitational Exhibition”, Song Art Museum, Beijing, 2023; “Emotion and Universe”, Harvest Moon Art Centre, Chongqing, 2022; “About Wind”, Nanjing Art Museum, Nanjing (2021), “Stratification and Synthesis”, Xiezilong Image Art Museum, Changsha (2020); “Heavy Artillery”, White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, Australia (2016); The 3rd Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, Yekaterinburg, Russia (2015); The 6th Moscow Biennial of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia (2015); Performance Platform Lublin, Labirynt Gallery, Lublin, Poland (2013); The 19th Nippon International Performance Art Festival, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagano, Japan (2013); The 53rd Venice Biennale – Exhibits from Macao, Venice, Italy (2009). Liu was awarded the Excellence Award in the Youth Plus-Young Artists Promotion Project supported by China National Arts Fund (2015), first prize in the 1st Circle Art Youth Award (2015) and a Merit Award in “Inward Gazes – Documentaries of Chinese Performance Art”, Macau Museum of Art (2008).