Foreword
“Mind-Scape” artist group exhibition concentrates on the introspection in the process of creating from the artists themselves: how to look closer with their eyes, how to sense more with their mind and how to create by their hands.
“I shut my eyes in order to see", said Paul Gauguin, the master of Impressionism who believed that artists should observe not only the object but also the inner side of themselves in order to create intensive experiences. The history, spirit and magnetism of Chinese culture and spiritual traditions studied by poets, artists and intellectuals had defined and altered their experiences and continue to be interpreted by today’s artists as they understand and encounter the cultural legacy of their ancestors.
An annual exhibition of 3812 Gallery, “Mind-Scape” rediscovers the “naturalness” of Chinese spiritual culture and explores the latest artistic expression. “Mind-Scape III” artists group exhibition exhibits a series of contemporary ink artworks by six participating artists; Wang Huangsheng, Sang Huoyao, Peng Kanglong, Lin Guocheng, Yu Yang and Chloe Ho.
The artistic creativity of Wang Huangsheng, Director of CAFA Art Museum is from rich experiences gained throughout his life. “Moving Vision” and “Trace Vision” series depict curved lines intersecting and encircling each other with controlled movement and speed as they knit together compositions that are full of tension and spaciousness.
As the prophet of “Jing Xiang”(Scenes of imagery), Sang Huoyao has strict standards on selecting the water for his painting. The delicate ink blocks revealed the beauty of ink properties on silk cloth as well as the rich transparency and exquisite texture created from the crystal intention and potent brushwork.
Taiwan artist Peng Kanglong treads an unfamiliar path. Instead of diligently following blank-leaving (leaving blank on paper) principles of traditional Chinese landscape drawing, he focuses on the use of empty space. With fully filing the canvas with a lot of lively details to the point of saturation, Peng creates the flower, grass, mountain, rock, cloud and fog with spirit of vitality.
Lin Guocheng’s mastery use of a humble pen to draw painstakingly detailed works, who has been inspired by both traditional aspects of Chinese ink as well as western sketching techniques. Notably, Lin draws upon his belief in the beauty of nature, and mesmerizing in their detail and hauntingly beautiful in their spiritual essence.
As a member of “Cold Ink Abstract Ink Art Group”, established in Beijing in 2013, Yu Yang seeks his inspiration from minimalism and abstraction. An orderly and almost regimented uniformity is at odds with the fluidity of ink, showcasing this emerging artist’s ability to capture the unique nature of ink with an unstructured blend of ink and colour wrapped around wooden straps in a geometric order releasing tension to create an unexpected suppleness.
Chloe Ho’s passion is revealed in the movement of her work. Her unique combination of ink and coffee captures the flowing essence of water, an integral component of ink art in a contemporary and haunting way. Chloe’s interpretation of established genres from classical literature to modernist art has recognized her as a leading contemporary of Chinese ink art development.
As the founder and director of Ink Asia, I am always exploring and searching for future development of Chinese ink art, especially its connections to our traditional heritage and our immediate future. I would like to share my passion for appreciating our growing acceptance ‘of’ and pride ‘in’ our cultural legacy and our strength to build from this a culturally important future. “Mind-scape III” captures these elements, which are the natural and spiritual fundamentals of our heritage as expressed with a deep personal connection by each individual artist. It is a journey through the imageries shown connected by the relationship of nature and human, of open hearts and minds from traditional influence to contemporary freedom.
Calvin Hui
Founder and Artistic Director 3812 Gallery
