2025年3月，美国密歇根大学名誉教授、北京大学首席客座教授马丁·约瑟夫·鲍尔斯访问中国国家画院。在访问期间，他参观了中国艺术家刘万鸣的工作室，并对刘万鸣的画作《墨趣图册》印象深刻，称赞其艺术成就堪称“中西融和”的完美诠释。“
刘万鸣对中国传统与欧洲写实、自然主义传统的驾驭炉火纯青，并将二者融为一体，正如‘中西融合’一词所蕴含的深意。”鲍尔斯教授如是说。
刘万鸣的艺术创作以“读万卷书，行万里路，而后作画”为哲学根基，将宋韵的精微与元意的灵动融于笔端。他专注于花鸟与自然题材，以中国传统技法为骨，以敏锐的观察力为魂，捕捉自然万物的神韵。无论是巨幅创作，还是精妙小品，其作品皆呈现出人与自然的和谐共生，笔墨间流淌着跨越时空的艺术共鸣。East-West fusion: An American scholar’s view on Liu Wanming’s art
In March 2025, Martin Joseph Powers, an Emeritus Professor from the University of Michigan and Chaired Visiting Professor at Peking University, visited the China National Academy of Painting. During his stay, he explored Chinese artist Liu Wanming’s studio and was deeply impressed by his painting "The Charm of Ink Painting Album.""Liu Wanming is totally in command of both the Chinese tradition and the European realist and naturalist tradition and fuses them, as the word ’Zhong Xi Rong He’ (Fusion of East and West) was meant to imply," Professor Powers remarked. Liu’s art, rooted in the philosophy of "Read, then paint," merges the precision of the Song Dynasty with the fluidity of the Yuan Dynasty. Specializing in flowers, birds, and wildlife, he employs traditional Chinese techniques while capturing nature with an observant eye. Whether on a grand scale or in delicate sketches, his works reflect a seamless harmony between mankind and nature.
