‘For Liu Xiaodong, painting is akin to the difficult and arduous journey of life. He needs it because he concerns himself with his subjects as much as he concerns himself with life around him. He is comfortable only when he achieves a meeting of psychological motivation and reality. By no means a relaxed painter, he puts his whole psyche into his works.’ – Fan Di’an. Documenting the artistic development of Liu Xiaodong in the decade 1990-2000, this exhibition catalogue offers a review of his works by both Chinese and Western specialists in contemporary Chinese art. A biography of the artist is included. Commentaries on the works by Liu Xiaodong are extracted from writings by Shao Dazhen, Yin Ji'nan, Li Xianting, Zhang Langlang, Fan Di'an and Wei Qimei.

范迪安曾說過，由於劉小東「是一位真正把繪畫看作與自己生命一樣重要、和生活同等價值的畫家」，因此他「堅信繪畫本身仍然需要探索和實驗的空間，他也相信具象和寫實的手法仍然具有深化和發展的前景」，而其作品更「展示了具體化與精神性並生的雙刃鋒芒」。本圖錄記錄了劉小東從1990年至2000年期間的蛻化過程，並載錄了多名海內外的中國當代藝術學者所撰寫的評論。關於劉小東作品的評論分別摘自邵大箴、尹吉南、栗憲庭、張郎郎、范迪安及韋啟美的著作。本圖錄亦載有藝術家的簡歷。