Spiritual Light: Tian Wei Ink Painting Exhibition to be Presented at Today Art Museum

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TEXT：Sue Wang DATE： 2014.9.9

Poster of Tian Wei Solo Exhibition

Preface

By Xia Kejun

The ink drawing needs to return to its internal subtle renewal after modernistic revolution and all sorts of restless and brute contrivances. It should absorb more profundity in silence and meditation. This process calls for a powerful mind. Tian Wei, a devout practitioner, is drawing in silent transform while praying silently. Miraculous brightness of the ink and wash drawing is constantly flowing, making our souls shudder.

The ink drawing is yet to be renewed with new spirits and qualities. In other words, fresh miraculous brightness is needed to awaken its quality. Be it of Buddhism or Christian Genesis, the brightness has gone through modernistic baptism. The ink drawing has its own brightness, which is subtly revitalized in the drawings of man-of-letters. The strength of "brightness" and the tenderness of "Qi" are to integrate when the brightness encounters western idea of reason. Brightness and Qi, spirituality and perception are yet to awaken sleeping Chinese once again.

Visual model of Tian Wei's works has great originality and rare texture. Different from western abstract painting and former Chinese Maximalism, inner breathing and conviction are infused into his works through repetitive strokes. The theory is reverse restructuring of Chinese blank space, followed by the technique of layers of ink adopted by Gong Xian in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and ink light adopted by Huang Binghong. Repetitive layers of ink serve the "blank space" at the center of the drawing to give off cool light. Rather than make an artificial brightness, he enables the blank space give off everlasting light in the flowing of dark ink. The light has the power toreach our souls. The light turns into an everlasting rainbow when golden or colorful powder is added to the drawing. The works of Tian Wei make us feel again the loftiness of western abstract drawings and the naturalness of Chinese art. His works resemble incessant waves of the sea, or the flowing hazy moment of the world. They shed light on the internal integration of Chinese yin and yang(two opposing principles of the nature).The brightness of the light is in contrast with the profoundness of the ink when the positioning of double-string is adopted, so the melody of the universe is constantly resounding on the drawing.

The exhibition shows us Tian Wei's journey of thinking over these years. It gives us a chance to experience the rare qualities of the ink and brush drawing in its renewal and calmness, which is the secret shuddering of the heart upon touching the world, the aspiration when the world came into being, and the incessant flowing passion of life that shakes our souls. His works bring about calmness and composure to this chaotic world, leading us to follow more lofty brightness，because it is the horizon of the spirit world.

Work by Tian Wei