DEC 13 – JAN 3, Ink III


CHAI YI MIN
CHEN XIN MAO
HE SAI BANG
ZHANG HAI TIAN
ZHOU MENG

Ink III: Just arrived from Shanghai—new small works on paper that will challenge your ideas of this exciting medium.

The director of the Walsh Gallery has just returned from Shanghai and brought back new works by four fabulous artists; Chai Yi Min, Zhang Hai Tian, Chen Xin Mao, and He Sai Bang. Ink III opens on December 13 from 5–9 pm in Galleries II, III, and IV. In Gallery I Atul Dodiya’s metal shop keeper shutter paintings can be seen through February 8, 2003.

Chai Yi Min has continued his quirky ink paintings on paper with nail polish. When asked about the source of his inspiration he replied, “Well I digest what people have to say and then I eat a lot and see what comes back up!”

Chen Xin Mao has continued his History Book Series in which he uses printings of old woodblocks which were used as Chinese history textbooks and then combines them with elements from the natural world like horsehair, seeds, etc. Mr. Chen has continued his pursuit of a deeply personal rewriting of Chinese History. Mr. Chen’s work was recently seen in the Guangzhou Triennial.

He Sai Bang’s new work continues to challenge ideas of what Chinese ink painting should be. Birds, mountains, and flowers are absent from his work; instead we might find common household objects–an egg, a lemon, an apple. His lines are sometimes choppy and halting, not always smooth and unbroken as in more traditional work. His fascination with muted colors, gray, white, and black especially, gives his paintings a sparse, minimal look. Each object seems to exist in its own world, while the viewer is allowed to bring his own associations to the work.