Abstract Landscape

1960s

American, born China, 1907-2003

Born to a distinguished Suzhou family of scholar-officials in 1907, C.C. Wang belonged to the last generation that received a classical education in the arts. An eminent student of the painter Wu Hufan (1894-1968), Wang mastered traditional brush and ink techniques before moving to New York in the late 1940s, and became influenced by Western museum collections and contemporary artists. Blending abstract expressionism and Chinese brushwork, the bleeding of ink and the changing tonality gives the mountain a misty impression, while the dry brushstrokes exhibit the pulsating movement of the artist's hand. This painting goes beyond representation, as Wang demonstrates that brush and ink-as an artistic expression-is not subservient to form.

Handscroll; ink on paper

12 x 33in. (30.5 x 83.8cm)

Gift of Dr. Shirley Sun

2008.80

Provenance: Shirley Sun

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Not currently on view

Resources

Published ReferencesSilbergeld, Jerome, "Mind Landscapes: The Paintings of C.C. Wang", University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA, 1987

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