(Untitled) from The Spirit of Harmony

(Untitled) from The Spirit of Harmony

Arts; Arts-Painting;

Piece from Spirit of Harmony, a twelve piece suite, acrylic on paper. Like many contemporary painters, Wang Ming works in series; the works in the Fairfield collection are all multiples: the pair of acrylic on canvas works that hang in the Canisius stairwell; the twelve-piece suite on paper on view in the library; the pair of paintings in acrylic on paper in the Quick Center; and the lengthy scrolls painted on paper and mounted on linen that hang in the lobby of the science building. These works indicate the range of style and technique that characterizes Wang Ming's painting, from monochrome brushwork-style painting that alludes to both traditional Chinese brush painting as well as to the gestural painting that was being created in the New York art world when Wang Ming first arrived in the US from China in the mid-20th century; to works of rich and subtle color, to the more bold color and brushwork of the scrolls. All are abstract, as is characteristic of the artist's work in general; his abstract styles may be understood as referencing not only the long tradition of calligraphy as an abstract art form in China and the inherently abstact nature of much traditional Chinese painting but also, again, the avante-garde art movement Abstract Expressionism, which dominated the New York art world in the mid-20th century. Wang Ming's work consciously and seamlessly bridges and unites these varied aspects of his own artistic heritage and interests.

Donated by the artist.

Wang Ming, b. 1922

DiMenna-Myselius Library

Fairfield University

Materials may be used for educational, non-commercial purposes only. Acknowledgement to be given to the ASIANetwork-Luce Asian Art in the Undergraduate Curriculum Project and to the college from whose collection the work comes. The individual college retains copyright to the work.

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Still image

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China

China - People's Republic of China 1949 - present