Han Zi Reinvented: The Rhythm of Chinese Script
September 9 – October 13, 2006
Curators | Danielle Susalla & Chih-Zer Yee
About the Exhibition
Han Zi Reinvented: The Rhythm of Chinese Script features seven Chinese artists (all living in the United States) who have taken traditional Chinese calligraphy and in thought-provoking and inventive ways transformed it using techniques and conventions they have learned from the relatively young traditions of contemporary Western art and culture: Chih-Cheng Chang, Wenda Gu, Betty Lee, Bovey Lee, Lampo Leong, Morris Wang and Xu Bing
Xu Bing uses a computer to create a new language resembling Chinese characters, Wenda Gu translates English words phonetically into Chinese and forms the resulting characters in neon, Chih-Cheng Chang’s characters are made by photographing the human body, Bovey Lee creates calligraphy-like lines with digital images of her own body, in Betty Lee’s DVD, characters are fragmented and reconstructed; Lamp Leong deconstructs calligraphies to the point that the resulting paintings have been compared to Abstract Expressionism; and Morris Wang moves calligraphic gestures into sculpture.
“We find here an insightful and elegant exhibition that examines and celebrates the melding of East and West.” (From an essay by Mike McGee, in the exhibition catalogue)
96-page catalogue (with slipcase) is available for sale.
