Liu was born in 1963 in the small industrial village of Jincheng, a pulp and paper-producing center on the outskirts of Jinzhou in Liaoning province.
In 1998–99 he continued his studies overseas at the Academy of Fine Arts at the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain.
He now holds tenure as a professor in the painting department at CAFA.
[1][2] 1990 The Days: Began participating with the Chinese Independent Film Movement, starting as the lead role in The Days, which was named one of the top 100 most important international films of the past century by the BBC.
2006 Dong ("East",《东》): Starred in a documentary of the Three Gorges and Thailand painting project by director Jia Zhangke.