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30 Letters To Qiu JiawaL22 - Beyond sky there is sky, within the sea there is seaL23 - An exit from a tunnel is not always only where the light isL24 - In their contests, you do not have to become a winner
Details
QIU ZHIJIE (B. 1969)
30 Letters To Qiu Jiawa
L22 - Beyond sky there is sky, within the sea there is sea
L23 - An exit from a tunnel is not always only where the light is
L24 - In their contests, you do not have to become a winner
A set of three hanging scrolls
Ink and ink rubbing on paper
Each scroll measures 510 x 190 cm. (200 ¾ x 74 ¾ in.)
Executed in 2009
PROVENANCE
The Origo Collection
EXHIBITED
Beijing, Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Qiu Zhijie: Breaking Through the Ice, 15 February-25 May, 2009
London, Saatchi Gallery, Ink: The Art of China, 19 June-5 July, 2012
LITERATURE
Chinese Ink Painting Now, Distributed Art Publishers, Inc., New York, 2010, pp. 136-137
Ink: The Art of China, Michael Goedhuis Publishing, London, 2012, pp. 126-127
Monumental in scale and boldly conceptual in nature, Qiu Zhijie’s 30 Letters to Qiu Jiawa is a series of thirty hanging scrolls dedicated to the artist’s daughter and was commissioned by the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in 2009. The triptych featured here depicts a fantastical segment of the iconic Nanjing Yangzi River Bridge – a symbol for national power and, incidentally, a common site for suicide attempts in China – festooned with cacophonic imageries of mushrooms, anchors, lotus root, water taps and babies. Emblazoned across the bridge are statements intended for Qiu’s newborn daughter who fell critically ill when Qiu started to create the work: advising her, for example, to disregard competing with other people just for the sake of competition. The triptych evolves from Qiu’s on-going sociological project on suicide and the Bridge. Lodged between the public and the private, Qiu’s work offers a poignant commentary on China’s rapid modernisation and the social effect it might have on the collective mind.
Although trained in printmaking at the China Academy of Art, Qiu Zhijie studied traditional Chinese calligraphy since childhood and perceives ink and brush as his innate tool to formulate his thoughts and ideas. His ink paintings are his journals, mind maps, and blueprints for his installation and curatorial works. Qiu infuses contemporary subject matters, new techniques and presentation methods to innovate his ink paintings. He desires to revive the ancient literati tradition, in which men of insight and knowledge observe their universe and express their feeling of society through works of art.
30 Letters To Qiu Jiawa
L22 - Beyond sky there is sky, within the sea there is sea
L23 - An exit from a tunnel is not always only where the light is
L24 - In their contests, you do not have to become a winner
A set of three hanging scrolls
Ink and ink rubbing on paper
Each scroll measures 510 x 190 cm. (200 ¾ x 74 ¾ in.)
Executed in 2009
PROVENANCE
The Origo Collection
EXHIBITED
Beijing, Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Qiu Zhijie: Breaking Through the Ice, 15 February-25 May, 2009
London, Saatchi Gallery, Ink: The Art of China, 19 June-5 July, 2012
LITERATURE
Chinese Ink Painting Now, Distributed Art Publishers, Inc., New York, 2010, pp. 136-137
Ink: The Art of China, Michael Goedhuis Publishing, London, 2012, pp. 126-127
Monumental in scale and boldly conceptual in nature, Qiu Zhijie’s 30 Letters to Qiu Jiawa is a series of thirty hanging scrolls dedicated to the artist’s daughter and was commissioned by the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in 2009. The triptych featured here depicts a fantastical segment of the iconic Nanjing Yangzi River Bridge – a symbol for national power and, incidentally, a common site for suicide attempts in China – festooned with cacophonic imageries of mushrooms, anchors, lotus root, water taps and babies. Emblazoned across the bridge are statements intended for Qiu’s newborn daughter who fell critically ill when Qiu started to create the work: advising her, for example, to disregard competing with other people just for the sake of competition. The triptych evolves from Qiu’s on-going sociological project on suicide and the Bridge. Lodged between the public and the private, Qiu’s work offers a poignant commentary on China’s rapid modernisation and the social effect it might have on the collective mind.
Although trained in printmaking at the China Academy of Art, Qiu Zhijie studied traditional Chinese calligraphy since childhood and perceives ink and brush as his innate tool to formulate his thoughts and ideas. His ink paintings are his journals, mind maps, and blueprints for his installation and curatorial works. Qiu infuses contemporary subject matters, new techniques and presentation methods to innovate his ink paintings. He desires to revive the ancient literati tradition, in which men of insight and knowledge observe their universe and express their feeling of society through works of art.
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