Reinvigorating ink painting

None of Sutherland's artists are being shown in either Christie's or Sotheby's exhibitions, which she believes is the result of their not speaking English or being outspoken self-promoters, she says.

Shek confirms that Christie's selected ink artists, who have had extensive shows worldwide, are being promoted because the auction house hoped to make a strong impression with its first private sales exhibition for contemporary Chinese inks.

"We hope that it's also encouraging emerging artists and students to continue the trade and work hard in the ink tradition," Shek says. "It's (an art form) that shouldn't be lost."

Both Sutherland and Shek highlighted various technical innovations being developed out of this traditional medium.

Liang Quan pushes the limits of traditional Chinese painting media in a way that no other contemporary artist does, Sutherland says. He employs conventional materials in an unconventional way, such as painting with Chinese tea or steeping paper to create abstract works.

Featured Christie's artist Liu Guosong has a type of paper named after him; he crumples, stains and tears the paper in pieces for works like Snow Mountain Series A. This inverts the traditional techniques of Chinese ink paintings, which otherwise use black to outline objects, with white representing voids and empty spaces, Shek says.

"I think in each period there are equally important works because of historical relevancy," Shek says. "But to sit in a room with ink paintings that look so different from what you've seen, all the way from 2,000 years to 100 years ago, it's quite an achievement and it's a very fun process."

Sutherland has observed a trend toward more scholarship and the appreciation of scholarship in China.

The reinvigoration of ink painting reflects a growing respect for the past, she says.

"I think there's a real resurgence of people realizing the importance of their culture in China, and not just throwing out everything that's old," Sutherland says.

carolineberg@chinadailyusa.com

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