Inking differently: the Chinese artists breaking new ground in one of the most traditional of art forms
Young ink artists are taking a traditionally minimalist, derivative genre in new directions by inserting contemporary references in classically drawn works or transplanting the form to other media
If the second edition of the Ink Asia art fair proved anything, it is that the centuries-old genre is alive and well, and thriving in today’s hectic, digitised world. The fair, which wrapped up at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on December 18, saw 50 generously sized booths filled with all manner of ink art, and ink-inspired art.
Visiting the fair was a pleasant experience. Compared with the fly-in, fly-out nature of Art Basel Hong Kong, Ink Asia is an oasis of calm; the largely local crowd preferred more leisurely browsing. But behind the display of elegant brushwork lurks the same existential fear about the prospects for other traditional art forms. Prices for so-called “contemporary ink art” – a discrete category international auction houses have promoted heavily in the past few years – have surged. But even the most dedicated Chinese ink artists are fearful that the genre is not on a firm enough footing for new works to withstand the test of time.
There are similarities with contemporary classical music, where mould-breaking compositions struggle to assert themselves in the programming for mainstream concerts in which composers long dead still loom large. In shuimo, meaning water and ink, the forms laid down by ancient Chinese ink painters are still the gold standard.
A video tour of Ink Asia
“Tang paintings were the starters used for brewing. Song paintings were the wine. Yuan paintings were great vintages and everything since is watered down, with more water added as the years go by,” said Huang Binhong, a painter and art historian active in the Republic of China, in a brutal, and much cited, put-down.