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

Both Jinwei and Bak Chiang 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.

About the artists
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”.

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.

藝途畫廊榮幸呈現《墨。語》，展示兩位亞洲當代水墨藝術家，蔡謹蔚和鄭木彰的水墨畫作品。 謹蔚和木彰都有多年的水墨學術背景。吸收中國傳統水墨畫的精髓，他們不斷的在探索水墨技巧和尋求新的詮釋，以解決當代的情感和美學。 兩位藝術家的作品，在視覺上都有各自明顯的特徵，展示了當代中國水墨在表達技巧上可以有無限的可能性。儘管兩位藝術家的背景和年齡不同，有趣的是，兩位藝術家無論是有意或是潛意識的，在作品裡都體現了當代水墨運動與中國水墨理念的銜接。 就像語言是人與人之間溝通的橋樑，中國水墨的普遍性足以讓它成為跨地域、文化和時代的溝通管道。 無論是會話語言或是視覺語言，語言的美也在於適應時間和地點，個人特質的能力，常常是定義性格和個性的元素。無論是大眾與個人、藝術家與觀眾、過去與現在之間的對話，都是這次《墨。語》當代水墨作品展的基礎。 有關藝術家 蔡謹蔚，1980年出生與中國廣州。2012年， 畢業於中國藝術研究院，獲美術學博士學位。2008年及2003年，畢業於廣州美術學院，分別獲得文學碩士和學士學位。 謹蔚運用她傑出的“沒骨”工筆繪畫技巧，以“墨、色、水和色粉”的細膩掌握，呈現感性的花朵和蝴蝶縮影。 曾獲多個獎項包括林若熹藝術基金會的藝術新星2012年度獎，在中國當代藝術的領域備受肯定與注目。2013年，作品《蔚然靜雅》系列參加“七十後：新水墨──怡情齋收藏展”於香港蘇富比藝術空間展出。 鄭木彰，1973年出生於馬來西亞，目前於新加坡定居。他以簡約、抽象的風格來詮釋鳥、石頭和荷塘風景為名。混合天然彩色顏料、水墨和設色，大膽的色調和豐富的紋理，是傳統水墨所不常見的。 1995年，畢業於新加坡南洋藝術學院； 1997年，受教於杭州中国美術學院。 2000年及2003年，木彰曾兩度獲得新加坡大華銀行全國繪畫比賽第一奬；2002年，榮得新加坡國家藝術理事會頒發的視覺系青年藝術家奬。他的作品被多個重要的公共機構、私人企業及藏家收藏，其中包括新加坡總統府、新加坡國家美術館、Simmons & Simmons 當代藝術收藏、新加坡藝術理事會。
Cool Breeze 清風, Chinese Ink and Colours on Rice Paperl, 69 x 34cm, 2015