Detail: Opening Reception: Saturday August 7, 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Panel Discussion: Saturday August 21, 2:00 pm (English & Chinese)

Crossing Art is pleased to announce the opening of Metamorphosis of Ink a group exhibition featuring six artists who transform traditional ink painting through a myriad of contemporary approaches. With Asian Art history steeped heavily in ink painting, artists today are inclined to explore the new possibilities for this ancient art form. Metamorphosis of Ink includes work by Lo Ch’ing, Qin Feng, Quan Handong, Zheng Lianjie, Jeong Min Park and YoYo Xiao.
In his essay, “Contemporary Ink Art Evolution” critic and curator Ping Jie, explains that the ‘components of ink painting derive from three sources: inheritance from ancient masters (tradition), exterior influences (nature), spiritual inspiration (individual experience)’. Artist Lo Ch’ing is a poet. His titles, “Another World with Surprise” and “New China with Surprise” provoke a controlled symbolic expression of his inner shock of the changing world around him. His ink paintings depict cityscapes not commonly used as subject matter in ink painting. Ch’ing’s compositions are also compellingly different than typical ink paintings using either little or no “negative space”.
Qin Feng approaches his paintings as abstractions but uses different materials to explore ink painting and fuse western techniques with eastern traditions. Qin Feng mixes coffee with ink to create his unique surfaces. Traditionally ink painting is made on xuan or rice paper where Qin Feng throughout his career has used canvas, linen and a thick brown stock paper to create his ink paintings. While Qin Feng uses canvas, Quan Handong is strict about using xuan (rice) paper for his paintings so as to create the exact absorption and fading effects which only ink on xuan paper can create. All of Handong’s works are deeply rooted in Eastern philosophy. Artist Zheng Lianjie has been making ink paintings for over thirty years and is deeply committed to the exploration of the medium and moving outside of its traditional forms. His ink paintings are rooted in nature combined with personal identity that evokes the social and cultural relevance of these expressions amidst a changing China. Using the computer, artist YoYo Xiao, also employing a black and white palette, creates abstractions out of photographs that he takes. Conceptually, Xiao is still using marks to create his compositions but has removed the brush and the xuan paper choosing instead to utilize more everyday materials and tools including digital prints and the computer. After creating different marks on the screen, Xiao uses different effects to distort and obscure them. Artist Jeong Min Park makes ink paintings on folded rice paper that when unfolded reveal 32 small, separate ink paintings that she installs on the wall stacked on top of each other. Inspired by Buddhist philosophy, her installation compiled of thousands of ink paintings entitled “Come Empty, Return Empty” explores new ways of displaying ink painting while revealing its meditative and repetitious nature.
The work on view illustrates new avenues of exploration and the broad range of possibilities for contemporary artists exploring ink as well as their historical past and cultural identity. At the same time, a world of different existential views is introduced in this show acting as a clear indication of the ‘Metamorphosis of Ink’.

Artists: Lo Ch’ing, Qin Feng, Quan Handong, Zheng Lianjie, Jeong Min Park and YoYo Xiao.