Art Projects Gallery - Tay Bak Chiang, Be Carried Away

Art Projects Gallery proudly presents “The Ink Dialogues” exhibition featuring the works of two Asian contemporary ink artists, Tay Bak Chiang and Cai Jinwei.

Both Bak Chiang and Jinwei have had years of training in Chinese ink painting. Absorbing the essence of traditional Chinese ink painting, they have been exploring technical innovation and seeking new interpretations to address contemporary sensibilities and aesthetics.

While the singularity of the artists’ works are visually apparent and demonstrates the depth and diversity of the possibilities in contemporary Chinese ink, it is also interesting to observe the aspects of universality in their works, despite their different backgrounds and age. This universality, whether deliberate or sub-consciously embedded in the artists’ works are the common denominator that links the contemporary ink movement back to the philosophy behind Chinese ink painting.

Like a language that connects people, the universality in Chinese ink painting empowers the ability to communicate across geographies, cultures and different generations of people. The beauty of the language, whether linguistic or this case visual, is also the capacity to accommodate individual idiosyncrasies of time and place that so often are the elements that define character and personality. The dialogues between the universal and individual, artist and audience, past and present, are the basis of the “Ink Dialogues – contemporary ink works” exhibition at Art Projects Gallery.

Art Projects Gallery - Cai Jinwei, Cool Breeze

About the artists

Tay Bak Chiang was born in 1973 in Malaysia and currently resides in Singapore. He is known for his minimalistic, abstract contemporary ink paintings of birds, rocks, and lotus landscapes. His innovative use of natural colored pigments, together with Chinese ink and colors, creates vibrant colors and rich textures that are not common in traditional ink painting.

Bak Chiang graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore in 1995 and studied at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China, in 1997. He was awarded the First Prize in the Chinese Painting category in the 19th and 22nd United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year Competitions (2000 and 2003 respectively). In 2002 he received the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council of Singapore. His works are collected by various public and private art collections including The Istana - official residence and office of the President of Singapore, National Gallery Singapore, Simmons & Simmons Contemporary Art Collection and National Arts Council Singapore.

Cai Jinwei was born in 1980 in Guangdong, China. She attained a Doctorate in Fine Arts from the Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing in 2012, and graduated with a Master of Chinese Painting and Bachelor of Chinese Painting from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 2008 and 2003 respectively. Jinwei has attained a high level of mastery in the “gongbi” technique, commonly known as meticulous ink brush painting, that she uses to create ultra-intricate lines in her floral and butterflies compositions. She is recognized as one of the leading contemporary ink artists in China and has won many awards including the Lin Ruoxi Foundation Emerging Artists Award in 2012. Jinwei’s works was selected to be part of Sotheby’s exhibition of contemporary ink art in 2013, titled “New Ink – An Exhibition of Ink Art by Post 1970 Artists from The Yiqingzhai Collection”.

About the exhibition

Exhibition Duration: 12 - 29 March 2015, Tue – Sat: 11am – 8pm, Sun: 12nn – 6pm, Closed on Monday

Venue: Art Projects Gallery

Address: Unit S510, 5/F, Block A, PMQ 35 Aberdeen Street Central, Hong Kong

Courtesy of the artists and Art Projects Gallery.