This is the catalogue of Koon Wai Bong’s first solo exhibition in Taiwan, titled “In the Breeze”, organized by Asia Art Center. The exhibition presents the work Reworking the Classics, which is the general paradigm of the Koon’s art. Koon Wai Bong constantly assesses his works and examines his techniques in painting trees. In the inscriptions, he points out how he was inspired by Guo Xi’s ‘three distances’ in Lofty Ambition of Forests and Streams as well as his portrayal and observations of mountains. In addition, the Yuan artist Guan Daosheng’s bamboo groves, The Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual, the Ming master Dong Qichang’s varied painting methods in The Casual Notes of Huashan Studio, along with Wu Zhen and Wang Meng’s brushwork are all Koon’s sources of inspiration. This significant piece is an in-depth scrutiny of the classical paintings, exhibiting an artist-scholar’s investigative spirits and practical abilities. As a whole, this set of ten paintings can be regarded as a model for all other exhibits in the solo, although each work is unique in terms of its artistic interpretation and expression.
Over the years, traditional Chinese painting has been roundly criticized by reformers and the resulting process of modernization has resulted in many experimental reforms and innovations. While retaining the use of paper and a brush to paint or write as basic tools, the genre has seen a transformation in ink art concepts and embraced a wide range of forms. The great diversity of forms represented in the exhibition “In the Breeze” offers a glimpse of the most recent developments in the genre and will encourage viewers to reflect on the essential spirit and meaning of ink art.
The author of the preface, Steven Lee, is the Managing Director, Asia Art Center, and the author of the essay is Ma Yuting.