Shuimo: Ten Thousand Blossoms Spring

About

In the Song Emperor Huizong’s reign, there was an invitation to artists wishing to join his court, to express in their paintings a feeling of joy upon returning from a Spring outing. In a similar spirit, the thirteen artists in Shuimo 2015 were asked to interpret, widely, the theme of flowers, Spring and rejuvenation. The five women artists, Ding Qiao, Peng Wei, Yang Yanling, Yuan Jai and Zhang Yirong painted flower, in very different styles with superb brushwork and an understanding of the classical traditions.

Li Huayi chose to infuse his elegant mountainscapes with hints of young green to herald Spring. Arnold Chang’s unusual use of bright greens, yellows and peach in his landscapes reflected exuberance and joy. Peng Kang-long and Chen Chien-fa in their flower fields expressed transience and fragility, with flowers in their budding or fading moments. Teng Pu-chun and Tai Xiangzhou in their surreal and futuristic rock- strewn landscapes and stratosphere, suggest at once stability and dramatic change.

The maverick Li Jin exudes joy and a farewell to restraint in almost all his works and he returns with his memories of St. Patrick’s Day parades, adding the right whimsical flourish to New York’s Asia Week’s version of March Madness. We have included his sculpture, which though it may seem quite a stretch evokes the pleasures of Spring.