Unfolding Landscape

Zheng Chongbin American, born China

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Zheng Chongbin first trained as a figure painter, learning to control line and heavy mineral pigments in the painstaking “meticulous brush” manner. In the 1980s, he began to experiment with bold, gestural brushwork and the uncontrollable effects of mixing ink with white acrylic. In recent years, Zheng has used this technique, now a core part of his practice, to explore the landscape tradition. Unfolding Landscape renders both natural forms and natural forces out of the accidental interactions of his materials—fractals and capillaries read as tree branches, gray eddies as clouds, blocks of black ink as cliffs. Though apparently driven by the artist’s gesture, Zheng cedes much of the creative power to these natural interactions.

Unfolding Landscape, Zheng Chongbin (American, born Shanghai, 1961), Ink and acrylic on xuan paper mounted to aluminum board, China

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