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Home » Feature » Art and Culture

A brush with genius

By Wang Jie | June 8, 2012, Friday | Print Edition

BOLD black calligraphy combined with blocs of bright colors, and some with seal-cutting, is a new take on ancient Chinese culture and contemporary aesthetics. Wang Jie reports.

Calligraphy and painting were among the essential arts to be mastered by an ancient Chinese scholar - the others were playing the guqin (seven-string zither) and Chinese chess. Seldom are the skills combined in one person today.

But artist Xia Yu, 47, is combining calligraphy, painting and seal-cutting, another ancient art, in dramatic works that he calls "calligraphic painting" - stamped with unusual seals he himself has carved.

Around 50 of his bold and colorful works on rice paper will be exhibited at the Hengyuanxiang Art Museum, a venue dedicated to displaying Chinese calligraphy, from June 10 to 12. A typical work is 1.7 x 0.7 meters.

Calligraphy - rhythmic strokes of black ink on white rice paper - is considered to reflect the essence of Chinese culture.

But Xia bends and exaggerates the bold, black strokes and adds splashes and blocs of bright colors made of Chinese paint pigment and acrylic, so at first sight the works appear to be abstract paintings, which they are.

Lu Yushun, vice director of the National Academy of Traditional Chinese Painting, calls the works "a creative expression few dare challenge."

"These are bold and creative artworks that broaden the scope of Chinese calligraphy," says Han Tianheng, chief consultant at the China Calligraphers' Association.

"It's not easy combining colors with ink in a painting," Xia says. "I don't break apart characters, but retain them in harmony with colors and patterns of Chinese seal cutting."

This is Xia's first exhibition of calligraphic painting after a decade of experimentation.

On closer inspection the characters can be deciphered, but identifying them can be a challenge.

"I am totally against 'splitting' characters to reform calligraphy," he says. "The natural characteristics of calligraphy should not be shattered. Picasso exaggerated figures and faces, but after all they are still figures and faces."

Xia has a solid foundation in calligraphy, Chinese painting and seal-cutting.

At the age of six, he studied calligraphy under famous Shanghai calligrapher Yang Yongjian and later with master Xu Boqing who called the boy "talented and diligent."

3,000 characters

"I was required to practice writing 3,000 characters on rice paper for four hours every day to nurture the spirit of calligraphy," Xia recalls. "Even today I recall that when I was in the hospital for a drip, the only thing on my mind was how I would finish the 3,000 characters that day."

Once he was interviewed by Shanghai Radio Station because everyone was amazed that a boy would spend his vacation writing characters for 10 hours a day. He was treated as a role model.

The more he practiced, the more he was drawn to calligraphy. "It is difficult to describe the enjoyment in writing calligraphy to an outsider. It relates to self-cultivation and appreciation of ancient Chinese culture," he says.

Over time Xia was no longer satisfied of copying masterpieces of calligraphy.

"One day I saw kids' paintings filled with bold colors and lines, which inspired my own calligraphic paintings," he says.

In fact, combining calligraphy and colors dates back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). Literati at the time took to writing on colored rice paper and on paper sprinkled with gold flecks.

Xia's work couldn't be more different. Instead of using colored rice paper, he creates his works on white rice paper and spreads Chinese paint pigments blended with acrylic.

Usually he first writes the Chinese characters and then splashes on color to conjure up the picture in his mind. He creates his paintings around the literal meaning of the Chinese characters.

For example, the characters Tian Chang Di Jiu or "everlasting love" are given an ambiance of romance.

The characters Si Hai Sheng Ping or "peace and prosperity of the world" are celebrated with the colors of rouge, yellow and blue, dotted with tiny white flecks, suggesting the aura during the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Perfectionist

"Unlike oil, calligraphic painting cannot tolerate even a small mistake and it should be accomplished with one brush," Xia says, adding that he discards dozens of pieces until he gets it right. "I always feel that only mature and quality pieces should be exhibited, otherwise it would be shameful for me."

On closer inspection, viewers can see patterns of seals that Xia has carved.

A combination of calligraphy and carving, seal-cutting was once a high art. A red seal on a work of calligraphy or a painting is not only a signature but an indispensable touch to brighten the work.

When Xia was only 12, he started to learn seal-cutting and won a national award when he was 23 years old.

His seals contain not only Chinese characters but sometimes intricate depictions of the Buddha, ancient ornamentation and oracle-like characters. The seal itself takes various shapes.

"Seal-cutting is my unique way of rendering a special visual effect ... I refer a lot to decorative elements on ancient bronzes, coins and stone rubbings," Xia says.

"Ancient Chinese culture and art is like a well of treasures," he adds. "The mix-and-match in my calligraphic painting may not be perfect, but I hope it gives an inkling of my thoughts to my peers."



Date: June 10-12, 9:30am-4:30pm

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Art and Culture


 

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