CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART PAINTING HONG KONG

The Island Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong will host, on 28 November 2011, the Bonhams Fine Chinese Paintings and Modern Asian Art Autumn Auction. A set of ten prints by contemporary artist Xu Bing is among the 141 lots, as is work by living artists Zhu Ming and Liu Kuo-sun.

From the Bonhams press release, sent out to media on Wednesday 9 November 2011,

Bonhams is pleased to announce its Fine Chinese Paintings and Modern Asian Art Autumn Auction to be held on 28 November 2011 at the Island Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong. It will cover 141 lots of exceptional paintings by acclaimed Chinese masters and Asian artists with a total estimate of HKD20,000,000 to 30,000,000.

Other highlights mentioned in the press release include paintings, mostly ink and oils, by Modern Chinese masters Lin Fengmian, Chen Yifei, Zhou Chunya and Sanyu (Chang Yu).

Click here to view the catalogue for the Fine Chinese Paintings and Contemporary Asian Art auction, starting 28 November 2011.

Lot 764, Lin Fengmian, 'Sunflower', ink on coloured paper, framed and glazed, 67 x 67 cm. Image copyright: Bonhams 1793 Ltd.

Lot No. 828, Chen Yifei, 'Boating Under the Bridge', oil on canvas, 59.5 x 79 cm.

Lot No. 830, Zhou Chunya, 'Three Scenes in Chongqing', each dated 1978 or 1979, three paintings: oil on paperboard mounted on wooden board. Image copyright: Bonhams 1793 Ltd.

Lot No. 832, Sanyu (Chang Yu), 'Seated Girl Drawing #1', executed between 1920s and early 1930s, 44.4 x 28.5 cm. Image copyright: Bonhams 1793 Ltd.

Public viewing of the works on auction will run from 24 to 28 November, with the auction itself being held on 28 November at 6:30pm at the Island Ballroom & Taishan Room, Island Shangri-La Hotel, Admiralty, Hong Kong.

KN/HH

Related Topics: market watch – auctions, Chinese artists, Hong Kong art happenings

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CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART PAINTING

In this addition to our “Lists” series, Art Radar looks back at five of our top posts on the topic of contemporary ink art. What is the future of the art form? Is ink art a medium reserved exclusively for Chinese artists? Read the posts below to find out.

Ma Yuan, 'Renyu Huoguo', 2010. Image courtesy Shenzhen Fine Art Institute.

What is the future of contemporary ink painting? Asia Society panel discussion

July 2011

A discussion on contemporary ink art, held at agnès b. CINEMA, a part of the Hong Kong Arts Centre, brought up a number of key issues on the future of the art form: how it should be understood and appreciated, displayed and passed on to future generations. While there are no simple answers to the questions posed, in the end the panel and audience members both showed optimism about ink art, as it continues to be practised, discussed and appreciated internationally. For readers who are new to the medium, the first section of this post provides a great introduction to the historical development of contemporary ink and a comparison of situations in Hong Kong and on the mainland.

Click here to read the full post on the future of contemporary ink art.

The press release for The Future of Contemporary Ink Painting, a panel discussion organised by the Asia Society in July 2011.

International contemporary ink artists show with Chinese in Shenzhen

February 2011

This post provides an overview and a review of the 7th International Ink Painting Biennale of Shenzhen, held in early 2011. Perceived as the “World’s Expo” of ink art, the event showcased a variety of ink painting styles, from experimental works to traditional masterpieces. The post reveals how the Biennale challenged the notion that ink is exclusive to China, stating that it is practised by international artists and appreciated by global audiences. Barbara Pollack is quoted at the end of this piece; she casts doubt on the market’s response to contemporary ink art when compared with its reaction to traditional works.

Click here to read the full post on the world’s only biennale dedicated to contemporary ink painting.

Jin Weihong, 'Shinei', 2008. Image courtesy Shenzhen Fine Art Institute.

How is Chinese ink painting explored in contemporary art? RedBox Review in discussion with Liang Quan

October 2010

This post, the content of which was taken from an article on Chinese art website RedBox Review, summarises a recorded conversation with contemporary ink artist Liang Quan. Liang, now working and living in Shenzhen, is considered to be one of the pioneers of this art form. Abandoning the traditional brushwork of Chinese ink painting, Liang has created Chinese landscapes using a collage of paper soaked in ink and tea. Though the artist’s experimental works seem abstract at first glance, in reality, he follows the traditional aesthetic of multiple points of perspective.

Click here to read the full post on the ink art of Chinese contemporary artist Liang Quan.

Liang Quan, 'Tea Stain No. 3', 2008, ink and paper, 63.8 x 48 cm.

Wilson Shieh revitalises ancient Chinese painting techniques – video

September 2011

Trained in traditional Chinese painting, Wilson Shieh is one of the few full-time artists in Hong Kong. His popularity in the art world points to the fact that collectors and viewers are starting to take more of an interest in ink art which depicts contemporary issues. In this video, originally posted on Internet channel ChooChooTV’s [art]attack, Shieh explains how his unique style developed. Using the technique of classical fine line (gong-bi), he successfully explores the subject of identity and sexuality through the depiction of figures in tailor-made costumes.

Click here to read the full post on the way in which Hong Kong artist Wilson Shieh combines contemporary ink traditions into his art.

Wilson Shieh 石家豪, 'Mary the Princess (瑪麗公主)', 2008, acrylic on canvas, 145 x 90 cm.

Do you want to have a browse through our archives? Click here to take a look at what else we have written on contemporary ink art.

KN/HH

Related Topics: ink art, painting, Chinese and Hong Kong artists, biennales, lectures and talks

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Subscribe to Art Radar for more on contemporary ink painting in Asia and beyond

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THE painting is in its original frame and is being offered without proof of origin.

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JAPANESE TRAUMA ART EARTHQUAKE TSUNAMI

In an article for ART IT, Kyoichi Tsuzuki expresses his sadness at the devastating March 2011 earthquake in Japan and takes some time to show us how art has been utilised by Japanese people during and after horrific and extreme events over the past century.

The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami has produced many horrific images that continue to flood the media worldwide even months after the event. But none of those pictures intrigue Kyoichi Tsuzuki as much as a single painting by Shigeru Mizuki does. The untitled painting created by the old Japanese cartoonist for an international newspaper prompts the writer to pause for thought:

A right hand reaching out of swirling water as if about to be swallowed up by the muddy torrent. Fingers straining outstretched in a desperate struggle. In contrast to the sentimental media chorus exhorting us to “join together and rise again,” Mizuki’s is a stark, powerful work that grabs us – we humans prone to avert our gazes from horrific reality – by our collective throats, and forces us to face what has actually occurred. That such a work is the creation not of some fashionable contemporary artist, but an aging cartoonist, also gives much pause for thought.

Click here to read the full article on Japanese contemporary art news website ART IT.

A trauma art painting by Mizuki Shigeru printed in 'The New York Times'. Image from libertysketch.tumblr.com.

As the nation chants slogans of optimism and victory, Shigeru Mizuki’s art hits viewers with a harsh reality: the tsunami has swallowed an estimated 150,000 or more souls. The hand raised from the torrent symbolises a feeling or an event, a result of the earthquake, that is open to the viewers’ imagination and interpretation. Most importantly, it sparks conversation in society, a key function of art during a traumatic event.

Tsuzuki comments on how the art scene in Japan has been “paralyzed in the face of Japan’s worst natural disaster since the Great Kanto Earthquake”, as many museums were shut down and exhibitions were postponed. To remind artists of their unique role in a time of catastrophe, Tsuzuki highlights how art was an effective tool for documenting the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake:

Of particular interest are the numerous large canvases depicting scenes from the disaster, the painters’ determination to engage head-on with the subject matter obvious in an era when paintings still had a significant documentary function.

Artworks documenting the Great Kantō earthquake are displayed in the Reconstruction Memorial Hall (Yokoamicho Park, Tokyo). Image from art-it.asia.

Tsuzuki draws special attention to Ryushu Tokunaga’s massive oil paintings, which “have a horrific intensity in their no-holds-barred rendering of the terrible damage wrought by the earthquake.”

Painting documenting the destruction of Junkai (left) and painting of priests pray at the remains of the earthquake (right). Tokyo Hall of Repose (Yokoamicho Park, Tokyo). Image from art-it.asia.

He also spotlights the WWII air raid photographs taken by Koyo Ishikawa, “the sole record of the largest raids over Tokyo [9-10 March 1945].”

This photograph shows a pile of corpses, a result of the 9-10 March 1945 Tokyo air raids. Tokyo Hall of Repose (Yokoamicho Park, Tokyo). Image from art-it.asia.

Apart from works that speak about the Great Kantō earthquake itself, Tsuzuki wrote about others that record or represent Japan’s recovery following the disaster. These include a model street layout of Tokyo and posters produced in the US, Italy and other countries at that time rallying the public to come to the country’s aid.

He signs off by urging artists to respond to one of the most destructive events in Japan’s history, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami,

Noticed by no one – not the children playing innocently in the park, nor their mothers dwelling in the surrounding high-rise apartments, nor the salarymen mellowing out on benches – in their silence, the collection of quake paintings adorning the walls of the Hall of Repose and Reconstruction Memorial Hall seem to have something urgent to say to those of us – artists in particular – now paralyzed in the face of Japan’s worst natural disaster since the Great Kantō earthquake.

Back in March 2011 we wrote about Japanese “mega-artist” Takashi Murakami’s earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. The artist started a Twitter campaign urging people to post images using Twit pic and a particular hashtag (#newday_GEISAI) following which he created a series of new paintings with sale proceeds going to the relief fund. Click here to read more about Takashi Murakami’s 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.

CBK/KN/HH

Related Topics: Japanese artists, war art, historical art, overviews

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