Art Exhibition

Sumi-e Society of New Jersey

October 3 to November 30, 2022

New Providence Memorial Library

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377 Elkwood Ave

New Providence, NJ

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Opening Reception

October 9, 2022

Sunday

2 pm to 4 pm

Art Demonstration

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 Press article::

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/new-providence/articles/friends-of-the-new-providence-memorial-library-exhibit-artwork-by-the-sumi-e-group-of-new-jersey

Chinese Brush Painting - An introduction

Paul Tong 

2002  [Revised 2022]

What is it?

Chinese Brush Painting has been the dominant painting style of China for many centuries. While the invention of the Chinese brush and paper dates back two thousand years, the aesthetic quality of today's painting finds its origin a thousand years ago, with the rise of the literati painters. While it covers a variety of motifs, from figures to flowers, landscape has been a dominant theme since the thirteenth century.

Chinese Brush Painting has a mood all its own, imbued with a subtle and subdued beauty. It has no dazzling bright color to draw upon - it is almost monochrome. With a spare and austere feel, it is nonetheless alluring, with an almost abstract quality to it. Instilled with the philosophy of the East, with attention to emptiness and serenity, it carries an atmosphere of tranquility and harmony. Its depiction of space can be intimate or grandiose, but always quiet and ethereal, with an air of mystery.

How is it done?

It is a water-based art form with a strong emphasis on ink. The focus is on brush technique, to achieve the most out of each stroke. It places a great demand on the quality of the ink application. This means the inks have to be applied in a lively intentional manner, with many shades of gray. The artist must make each stroke count, providing form, tone and texture. The Chinese brush, with its pliant shape, is the key. Capable of changing shape during use, it can be applied to produce a variety of effects. The other element is the Chinese paper, sometimes called "rice paper", which is a raw paper and highly absorbent. When a brush stroke is applied, there is a delayed diffusion and blending of the ink or colors as the water spreads in the paper. The changing brush shape and the spreading water work together to provide intriguing and spontaneous effects.

The painting process starts out with the application of ink to frame out the forms. Later, color can be applied in a wash process. The brush stroke must be applied with deliberation and without hesitation. In the ideal process, the forms should just flow naturally from the mind out of the brush onto the paper. The painting process itself has a spiritual dimension to it. It requires a mental state of effortless focus, a Zen-state of calm and mindfulness.

What are its aesthetic qualities?

 The ultimate goal is the mood of a scene, to allow a connection to the viewer in an emotionally transcendent way. In this, Chinese aesthetic philosophy, founded on Taoism and Zen Buddhism, provides a guide. Just as the Eastern philosophy focuses on inward cultivation, direct intuition and poetic truth, its art seeks to express the subject's inner spirit 神, its essence. Thus the idea of "spirit-likeness" 神似.  To express the inner "spirit" rather than just the exterior form of the subject, the painting should allow room for the viewer's imagination to roam and invest life into the scene. It should exhibit both likeness and "unlikeness". When the representation is too alike, the spirit is lost. It is too “stiff”, leaving no room for the imagination. Obviously, it should not have too much "unlikeness".   All in all, Chinese painting is not overly concerned with an accurate depiction of the external form. The tonal and textural qualities of the brush strokes, diffused in the paper, all come together to achieve this state of "likeness-unlikeness".

Then there is the sense of space. For landscape especially, the scene should draw in the viewer; it should transport the viewer to another world. Not only must the painting give the sense of depth, it should also provide a sense of mystery, attending to what is veiled and not revealed. The un-revealed will come alive in the mind's eye of the viewer. Another feature of Chinese landscape painting is the flexibility of perspective. The painting is usually not restricted to a single viewpoint. This is consistent with the goal of "spiritual likeness" outlined above. After all, the spirit of the mountain cannot be appreciated by looking at it from just one point of view. One must feel the mountain by traveling through it, and so it is with the painting.

How about the inscription and seal chop? 

The painting usually has a calligraphic inscription colophon and a red seal. Painting and calligraphy is considered to have the same origin in China and even to be the same art form by some. Calligraphy augments the painting. Sometimes it is a poem associated with the scene. Other times, it is a note on the inspiration of the painting. The crimson seal adds the third artistic element. The carving of seals from soapstone is an art form in itself. The seal showing the artist's name is essential, but seals with incidental messages, such as the year and place, are often included. The placement and the scope of the inscription and the seals serve to balance the painting and should be an integral part of the design. In this way, Chinese painting is actually a synthesis of three artistic elements: painting, calligraphy and seal.