For the 30th anniversary of ADAA’s Art Show, Chambers Fine Art is pleased to present the work of two distinguished artists: Wang Dongling, and Yan Shanchun.
Wang Dongling is recognized as one of China’s foremost living calligraphers and Chambers will present a selection of recent works from his ongoing series of abstract ink-paintings on rice-paper. Yan Shanchun’s evocative mixed-media paintings border on abstraction.
Born in 1957 in Hangzhou, Yan graduated from the Printmaking Department of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now China Academy of Fine Arts) in 1982, and thus belongs to the generation of artists who were the first to graduate after the academies were closed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Trained in traditional Chinese calligraphy, Yan Shanchun draws his thematic content from traditional Chinese art, the titles of his paintings and prints generally referring to famous landscape motifs in Hangzhou's West Lake district, yet his paintings hover on the edge of abstraction. In the paintings included in the exhibition, glimpses of the lake and its surroundings can be seen through multiple layers of pigment which range from thin ink washes to thicker applications of oil and acrylic applied with a palette knife.
Although Yan is fully cognizant of the long history of abstract painting in the West, he has been less concerned with rivaling these antecedents than in modifying their example to enrich the valued tradition of Chinese literati who cultivated the arts of calligraphy, painting and poetry in seclusion.
Wang Dongling is one of China’s most highly regarded ink artists. Trained in classical calligraphy, he studied at the progressive Zhejiang Academy and became increasingly involved in China’s avant-garde movement in the mid-1980s. While continuing to work in traditional styles, he also explores the abstract potential of calligraphy in freely brushed works that can be compared with Western gestural abstraction. Called Chaos Script, this series is considered a breakthrough in contemporary Chinese calligraphy, and he has been asked to perform this unique style of writing in a large-scale format at institutions around the globe. Chambers will present artworks that encompass both Wang’s large abstract brushstroke series and his Chaos Script series. The kinetic energy of these dynamic calligraphies provides an engaging counterpoint to the tranquil allure of Yan Shanchun’s West Lake imagery.
As part of the celebration of The Art Show’s 30th anniversary, Wang Dongling will be giving a special calligraphy performance on the opening day of the fair. The details are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, February 28th
Time: Performance will begin at 5:30pm
Venue: The Colonel’s Room, Park Avenue Armory
We look forward to seeing you at the fair.