Abstract Landscape
1960s
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 33 in. (30.5 x 83.8 cm)
Gift of Dr. Shirley Sun
2008.80
Provenance: Shirley Sun
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
