Showing posts with label Chinese Painting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese Painting. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Video Presentation of My Abstract Paintings

Abstraction is a highly cerebral activity that it intimidates me, a sensualist fundamentally.  But, over the years, not only my paintings started to become more abstract, by the natural development -- once you've painted any subjects and objects you fancies, what's next left do do -- I also made foray into purely abstract paintings as well.  Below is the video presentation of such efforts:



>> Video presentations of paintings and drawings, Part XXI: Oil Painting "Liberation Road" on Video
<< Video presentations of paintings and drawings, Part XIX: One More Life Drawing Video from Last Year


List of Video Presentation of My Artworks

Monday, November 29, 2010

My Theatrical Paintings on Video

My musing on paintings as pivotal elements in literature and theatrical works, made me thinking about using painting to present theatrical works, which has always been popular with artists, from Watteau to Picasso. I have made several such paintings myself and recently I also made a video presentation of these works:



The paintings on the video are:
- Limelight
- Pas de deux
- Wer tanzt
- Ballerina
- Blue Dancer
- Leap

>> Video presentations of paintings and drawings, Part XV: Monochromatic Drama
<< Video presentations of paintings and drawings, Part XIII: Video Presentation of Still Life Paintings


List of Video Presentation of My Artworks

Saturday, October 2, 2010

19th and 20th Century Art at the MET

MET has a huge selection of European paintings from the 19th and 20th century, many of them are iconic and it was beyond believe that so many treasures are under the same roof.

The tour of this section started with Ingres and his workshop's Odalisque in Grisaille, which I didn't remember having seen, though the version with full color was trice familiar.  It was very fascinating to see how Ingres employed the technique traced back from Renaissance Old Masters.

Odalisque in Grisaille, c. 1824-34, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Workshop _8409
Odalisque in Grisaille, c. 1824-34, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Workshop

But Ingres' Opus were almost belong to the previous century and his classical world were soon superseded by those more earthy and in-your-face type of depictions of life, like The Spanish Singer by Manet and The Third-Class Carriage by Honoré Daumier. Yet, they were not manifested from thin air; rather, they carried on the traditions of Goya and Rembrandt, et al.

The Spanish Singer , 1860, Édouard Manet 
_8405
The Spanish Singer, 1860, Édouard Manet

The Third-Class Carriage, ca. 1862–64, Honoré Daumier  _8413
The Third-Class Carriage, ca. 1862–64, Honoré Daumier

In the same unsettling way, landscape paintings made stride in France.  The best examples are those by Courbet and Corot.  Monet made landscape paintings in this style as well, before he went on to become an "impressionist".  Millet also excelled in country landscape as well.

The Source of the Loue, 1864, Gustave 
Courbet _8404
The Source of the Loue, 1864, Gustave Courbet

The Ferryman 
(left),Ville-d'Avray, c. 1865, A Woman Gathering Faggots at 
Ville-d'Avray (right), c. 1871-74, Camille Corot _8410
The Ferryman (left),Ville-d'Avray, c. 1865, A Woman Gathering Faggots at Ville-d'Avray (right), c. 1871-74, Camille Corot

The Green Wave, after 1865, Claude Monet 
_8398
The Green Wave, after 1865, Claude Monet

Haystacks: Autumn, c. 1874, 
Jean-François Millet _8414
Haystacks: Autumn, c. 1874, Jean-François Millet

But these artists didn't neglect the human world, with the exception of Monet, who showed no interest in depicting people but Manet, Millet, Corot, plus later comers Degas, Cézanne, kept unearthing the truth of human conditions. 

Young Lady in 1866, 1866, Édouard Manet _8406
Young Lady in 1866, 1866, Édouard Manet

A Woman Reading, 1869 and 1870, Camille Corot _8411
A Woman Reading, 1869 and 1870, Camille Corot

The Dance Class, 1874, Edgar Degas _8408
The Dance Class, 1874, Edgar Degas

Boating, 1874, Édouard Manet  _8396
Boating, 1874, Édouard Manet

Cézanne's portraits, over the years, had evolved so much and one could see the advance of cubism in his Madame Cézanne (née Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress dated 1888-90.

The Card Players, 1890-92, Paul Cézanne _8402
The Card Players, 1890-92, Paul Cézanne

Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle, 1866, Paul Cézanne _8401
Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle, 1866, Paul Cézanne

Madame Cézanne (née Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress, 1888-90, Paul Cézanne _8400
Madame Cézanne (née Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress, 1888-90, Paul Cézanne

I might have missed portrait and figure paintings by Gauguin but his still life was just as energetic and bold.  Bolder still, we entered Van Gogh's world.  I included a few paintings by him - both still life and portrait, not the most familiar ones but still very well known - beautiful, and slightly edgy and unsettling.

Still Life with Teapot and Fruit, 1896, Paul Gauguin _8392
Still Life with Teapot and Fruit, 1896, Paul Gauguin

Roses, 1890, Vincent van Gogh _8389
Roses, 1890, Vincent van Gogh

Sunflowers, 1887, Vincent van Gogh_8388
Sunflowers, 1887, Vincent van Gogh

L'Arlésienne Madame Joseph-Michel Ginoux (née Marie Julien, 1848–1911), 1888-89, Vincent van Gogh _8387
L'Arlésienne Madame Joseph-Michel Ginoux (née Marie Julien, 1848–1911), 1888-89, Vincent van Gogh

Next giants were Matisse and Picasso.  This 1906 early Matisse below definitely had obvious contrast to those included in the special exhibit at MOMA - "Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917", but the connections even to his later period can be easily identified.

The Sailor II, 1906, Henri Matisse _8372
The Sailor II, 1906, Henri Matisse

Picasso created La Coiffure in 1906 as well. It was an exciting period for sure.

La Coiffure , 1906, Pablo Picasso _8416
La Coiffure, 1906, Pablo Picasso

It was good to see the damaged The Actor had been repaired and were back in the gallery.  The restorers did such a wonderful job that one could not see the damages at all.

The Actor, 1904-05, Pablo Picasso _8383
The Actor, 1904-05, Pablo Picasso

There were many more wonderful works, all the way down to the end of 20th century.

The Dark Mountain, Number 1, 1909, Marsden Hartley _8382
 The Dark Mountain, Number 1, 1909, Marsden Hartley

Tables for Ladies, 1930, Edward Hopper _8380
Tables for Ladies, 1930, Edward Hopper

Jean Paulhan, 1946, Jean Paulhan _8376
Jean Paulhan, 1946, Jean Paulhan

Venice, Night, from Venetian Views, 1995, Howard Hodgkin _8267
Venice, Night, from Venetian Views, 1995, Howard Hodgkin

The only sculpture I stopped by to study, after many from Greek and Roman section, was a Herakles the Archer, which was dated only as 20th century:

Herakles the Archer, 20th century, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle _8269
Herakles the Archer, 20th century, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle

>> New York City Report, September 2010, Part XIII: Max Beckmann's Paintings in MOMA and MET
<< New York City Report, September 2010, Part XI: 14th - 18th Century Paintings at the MET

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Four Chinese Masters's Works at Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

Tracing the Past, Drawing the Future Master Ink Painters in 20th-Century China
Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University is presenting an exhibition (February 17 through July 4, 2010) that brings to the United States a rare and important group of 20th-century paintings by four Chinese modern masters. The landmark exhibition “Tracing the Past, Drawing the Future: Master Ink Painters in 20th-Century China” presents more than 110 works, and illuminates a turning point in the development of Chinese ink painting during the 20th-century.
Drawing upon paintings and calligraphy on loan from Chinese collections new to American audiences, the exhibition presents monumental portraits, vibrant bird-and-flower painting, and spectacular landscapes by Wu Changshuo (1844–1927), Qi Baishi (1864–1957), Huang Binhong (1865–1955), and Pan Tianshou (1897–1971). Collectively known in China as the ‘Four Great Masters of Ink Painting,’ these artists faced the dual challenges of negotiating the impact of encounters with the West, while inventing new directions for long-held practices of ink painting.
Tianshou_beautiful

Pan Tianshou
This Land So Beautiful, 1959.
Hanging Scroll. Ink and colors on paper. Pan Tianshou Memorial Museum
.
Flowers

Wu Changshuo
Flower and Vegetables album:
Narcissus, Eggplant, Grapevines, Lotus, Chrysanthemum, 1904.
Album Leaves. Ink and colors on silk. Zhejiang Provincial Museum.

Dry_Brush

Huang Binhong
Dry Brush Landscape (detail), 1952. Hanging Scroll.
Ink and colors on paper.
Zhejiang Provincial Museum
.
Ink_crabs

Qi Baishi
Ink Crabs (detail), 1953.
Hanging Scroll. Ink and color on paper. Zhejiang Provincial Museum.
More works by these four masters can be seen below:

黄宾虹 HUANG Binhong - 2
Landscape
黄宾虹 HUANG Binhong - 4
Landscape


黄宾虹 HUANG Binhong - Landscape
Landscape

黄宾虹 HUANG Binhong - Landscape
Landscape

黄宾虹 HUANG Binhong - Avoiding Rain in Sichuan Mountains
Avoiding Rain in Sichuan Mountains

黄宾虹 HUANG Binhong - Three Friends
Three Friends


潘天寿 PAN Tianshou:
潘天寿 PAN Tianshou - Monk Reading
Monk Reading

潘天寿 PAN Tianshou - Rest
Rest

潘天寿 PAN Tianshou - Fish
Fish

潘天寿 PAN Tianshou - Cascade
Cascade

潘天寿 PAN Tianshou - Sunshine
Lotus

潘天寿 PAN Tianshou - Homeland
Homeland

齐白石 QI Baishi:

齐白石 QI Baishi -  Shrimps
Shrimps

齐白石 QI Baishi - Crabs
Crabs

齐白石 QI Baishi - Insects and Pumpkins
Insects and Pumpkins

齐白石 QI Baishi - Cabbages
Cabbages

齐白石 QI Baishi - Listening to Frogs' Croaking
Listening to Frogs' Croaking

齐白石 QI Baishi - Huts
Huts

齐白石 QI Baishi - Leaves and Insects
Leaves and Insects


吴昌硕 WU Changshuo:

吴昌硕 WU Changshuo - Three Wishes
Three Wishes

吴昌硕 WU Changshuo -
Lotus

吴昌硕 WU Changshuo - Copying
Copying

吴昌硕 WU Changshuo - Plum Flowers
Plum Flowers

吴昌硕 WU Changshuo - Stone and Bamboo
Stone and Bamboo