At Shanghai ART021, Tina Keng Gallery brings you the splendid art works from five artists: George Chann,Su Xiaobai, Chiang Yomei, Yao Jui-Chung, and Peng Wei. Their works are divided into two focuses, namely, a close examination on abstract materials and the reflection on traditional paintings; by doing so, the artists aim to exhibit the diverse, refined forms and styles used by ethnic Chinese artists amidst the globalization of contemporary art.
At the art fair this year, George Chann presents abstract collages that are variegated and complex to show ethnic Chinese artists’ reflection on how to reconstruct the styles and forms associated with their own culture using different materials and shapes of written characters in the face of Western modern art. Simultaneously, to manifest the cultural depth and spirituality behind various materials,Su Xiaobai experimentally utilizes them, including Chinese lacquer, and adopts the form of visual lexicon following the accumulation of sophisticated layers and texture over time. For Chiang Yomei, painting is a way to connect oneself with the environment and universe. Blending materials such as hair and dust in her paintings becomes her ritual of spiritual awakening and response. Meanwhile, Peng Wei and Yao Jui-chung display the contemporary practice of ink wash painting using different methods, while further transforming the aesthetic value of traditional Chinese landscape and literati paintings. Peng borrows the characteristics of traditional literati paintings and incorporates daily realizations into the elegant and delicate ink wash paintings, representing the soft yet firm image of Chinese literati. Yao’s idiosyncratic landscape paintings boast resplendent landscapes accentuating eccentric and absurd plotlines, which serve as a provocation against ink wash paintings that are deemed orthodox and classic. Also, by introducing personal daily experiences or symbols of consumerism, Yao’s works highlight atypical absurdity and unworldliness. These works of two different focuses unveil the current state of Asian Art, which Tina Keng Gallery deeply cares about. It is not only an ostensible representation of the current Asian contemporary art; more importantly, it is the modern Asian aesthetic views that are only possible through long-term effort and cultivation.