Written by John Finn 330-263-2145 Email Story | Print Story

March 8, 2004

Shirt 1 and 2 Small and Large by Wang Tiande is part of "Radical Line: Innovation in Chinese Contemporary Painting," which is on dispaly at The College of Wooster Art Museum.

WOOSTER, Ohio - "Radical Line: Innovation in Chinese Contemporary Painting," an exhibition of ink painting and calligraphy featuring internationally renowned Chinese artists, opens to the public at The College of Wooster Art Museum at Ebert Art Center (1220 Beall Ave.) March 23 and continues through May 10.

Organized by the Bowling Green State University Fine Arts Center Galleries, this collection of scroll paintings features traditional calligraphy and ink painting as well as a variety of unconventional materials, including string, dirt, sand, body paint, and spray paint. According to the curator, Ethan Cohen, "Radical Line" exposes "the collision, rejection, integration, and whirlwind of influences that drove contemporary Chinese artists to re-examine their relationship to traditional Chinese media and values as they intersect with Western culture and ideas."

The title of the exhibition refers to the art of ink drawing and calligraphy as well as a philosophical edge or border traversed by these artists. The two-dimensional media focuses on the reinvention of traditional Chinese scroll and ink drawings as a vehicle to express the schisms in their own history as well as the nature of cross-cultural communication. The artists in this exhibition live and work in metropolitan areas as varied as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Taipei, Osaka, Boston, Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and Manhattan.

Some of the 16 artists represented in "Radical Line," include Xu Bing, winner of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1999; Wang Dongling, one of the most noted calligraphers in China; Qiu Zhijie, an experimental artist who often uses his own body as the canvas for bold calligraphy; and Pan Xing Lei, a performance and graffiti artist whose works, include the famous "Goddess of Democracy" monument created during the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.

Other artists in the exhibition are Gu Wenda, one of the most well-known Chinese artists working in America today; Qin Feng, a powerful experimental ink painter from Northwest China; and the late C.C. Wang to whom the exhibition is dedicated. Wang played a central role in pushing the envelope of traditional Chinese painting.

Events associated with this exhibition include a lecture about the artists in the exhibition by Zhou Yan, a Ph.D. candidate in art history on Wednesday, March 31, from 7-8 p.m. in Room 223 of Ebert Art Center. A reception will follow the lecture. On Wednesday, April 14, from 7-8 p.m., the flute duo SilverMoon, featuring Marlene Eberhart and Denise Rotavera-Krain, will give an informal concert as part of the museum's "Music in the Galleries" series. All events are free and open to the public.

The College of Wooster Art Museum presents temporary, rotating exhibitions from September to May each year in the Ebert Art Center. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. except during College breaks. Group tours are available. The 2003-2004 exhibition season is supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council through state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

For more information about the exhibition, or to arrange a tour, phone 330-263-2495 or visit www.wooster.edu/artmuseum.