“Modernism in the 20th century seems to possess an infinite vitality primarily through ink painting and Expressionism.”¹ Artists such as Yuichi Inoue and Jackson Pollock have transformed calligraphy and dripping into a globalized art language. This global art movement has been continuously propelled since the 1950s, leading to the most significant trend in contemporary Chinese art history over the past several decades, “Chinese Expressionism.” In this exhibition, we will present the works of two crucial artists Qin Feng and Zhang Fangbai within this grand and enduring movement in modern art history.

As successors to globalization and varies art movements, Qin Feng has transformed Chinese calligraphy into a form of cross-cultural abstract painting, who is highly regarded by museums and art institutions worldwide. Zhang Fangbai, on the other hand, is a pioneer of “Chinese Expressionism,” using black and white as his language to construct a style that differs from Western Abstract Expressionism. Through their works, they demonstrate that abstract ink still holds limitless possibilities and expressive power.

¹ Excerpt from Zhu Qi's “Abstract Expressionism and Calligraphic Aesthetics: The Modernity of Chinese and Western Painting in the Mid-20th Century"

「20 世紀的現代主義，似乎只有水墨畫和表現主義具有一種無限的活力。」¹ 井上有一和傑克遜·波洛克等藝術家通過書法性和偶發藝術的觀念，使得書法與水墨成為一種世界主義的語言形式，這一世界主義的運動旋風自上世紀 50 年代被持續推動，並引發了中國當代藝術史數十年來最重要的潮流─「中國表現」。本次展覽我們將呈現這現代美術史上浩大而長久的運動與潮流中至關重要的藝術家─秦風與張方白的作品。


作為這場世界主義藝術運動的接棒者，秦風將中國書法變為一種跨文化的抽象主義的繪畫方式，繼而成為備受全世界範圍內博物館及藝術機構青睞的當代藝術家。張方白則是「中國表現」的先行者，他以黑白為語言，構建了不同於西方的抽象表現主義繪畫。他們用作品證明抽象水墨仍有無盡的可能性和表現力。

¹出自朱其《抽象主義與書法性：20世紀中期中西繪畫的書寫現代性》