9616
Li Huasheng Chinese
Not on view
Originally an acclaimed painter of broad, splashy landscapes, Li Huasheng pivoted in the 1990s to a rigorous type of abstract ink painting: grids drawn freehand with traditional brushes on absorbent Chinese paper. At first glance, Li’s grids seem impenetrable, a mass of lines woven together like a textile. Viewed at close range, they pulsate with emotion and expressiveness, as every shift in the artist’s energy and concentration is recorded on the page. The modernist visual language of the grid is merged with the idea of brushwork as a window into the artist’s spirit, which Li adopted from premodern Chinese painting. The result is something that both refers to and reaches beyond the landscape tradition.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
