ART PROGRAM

Zheng Chongbin
(b. 1961, Shanghai)
Born in Shanghai, Zheng Chongbin studied at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in China before traveling to the U.S. where he received an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1991. Like many other contemporary Chinese artists, he is bi-cultural and spends his time between China and the U.S. Influenced by both western and eastern cultures, Zheng uses ink wash art as the artistic language in his works and keeps exploring the potential of ink as a medium. He studied figurative painting at first and later focused on conceptual art, abstract expressionism, and the post-modern deconstruction of light and space.

His work in the ink medium embodies a concept in which matter both imposes on its own form and also produces a metaphysical dimension. Zheng says, "my intention is to investigate the logic of the ink medium and its perceptual characteristics, the alternation between transcendence and the materiality of the work. The medium retains the core values of its history, while emphasizing contemporary procedures, especially in regard to material content, which it concerns about the perception of mental volumes in relation to physical space. It forms a shift toward objectification, toward an experience of architectonics and frontality."

Zheng's works have been exhibited at Christie's at New York (2013), Hong Kong Arts Centre (2012), Saatchi Gallery (2012), Shanghai Gallery of Art (2011), Zendai Himalayas Centre (2010), the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (2010), Valentine Willie Fine Art Singapore (2010), the Doland Museum (2009), the Pacific Asia Museum (2009), Busan Municipal Art Museum (2008), National Taiwan University of Arts (2008), the 3rd Chengdu Biennial (2007).

His works are collected by the British Museum in London, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the Daimler Art Collection in Stuttgart, Germany, and the DSL Collection in France. Zheng is the subject of a documentary film, The Enduring Passion of Ink, and an in-depth monograph Zheng Chongbin Impulse, Matter, Form, edited by Britta Erickson and distributed by D.A.P. in the United States.

TWO WINDOWS

TWO WINDOWS

2013 
INK, INK WASH AND ACRYLIC ON XUAN PAPER
THE EAST WEST BANK COLLECTION 
33 X 97 IN

 
On display at:

HONG KONG BRANCH AT THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CENTRE, CENTRAL, HONG KONG

 

Known for his personal re-interpretation of the classical Chinese ink painting, Zheng Chongbin uses traditional ink and acrylic on paper to create monochromatic artworks that are intricate and abstract. Unlike many contemporary Chinese painters whose goal is the revival of Chinese literati painting, Zheng is instead interested in exploring ink as a material that can highlight the juxtaposition of light and dark, translucency and opacity, space and movement.

In this painting, the windows are two interconnected flowing forms that bounce back and forth on the surface of the painting. The movement experienced by the viewer is subtly created by the tonal contrasts, the disjointed square shapes and the sense of depth conveyed by the layering ink and acrylic.