Poetics of Water（Series of 6）

Piece Description:

Text: Dai Guangyu

There

are six paintings in this series, all done in color ink-wash on rice paper framed on linen. The theme takes the water of Jiuzhaigou as its spiritual imagery and seeks to present a poetic scene of springtime. The thorns and branches outlined in cursive script (caoshu草书) brushwork in the center of the frame (a common image in Jiuzhaigou water) highlights this. The point is that the aesthetic paradigm demonstrated by the borrowing of calligraphic techniques reinforces the fact that behind the spiritual image of water, there is still a path to the world of clarity.

Text: Zhong Ting

Dai Guangyu comes from a literary family. His father was a student of Qian Mu, a literati in the late Qing Dynasty. Under the influence of his family schooling, he studied calligraphy, ink and wash, and painting since childhood, was deeply influenced by classical Chinese literature. The spirit of the ancient scholar has enabled the artist to maintain the integrity of his character even in dark and uncertain times. He has deeply researched and made bold attempts in ink-wash and calligraphy, incorporating the techniques of action painting method found in Abstract Expressionism to realize free artistic expression. However, behind a seeming rebellion is a firm adherence to tradition.

Poetics of Water combines the pictorial image (in a style of vivid expression and bold outline) of thorns and branches on the water of Jiuzhaigou with the brushwork of cursive script. This vaguely shows the spirit of “being proactive and prudent (kuang juan)” of the Wei, Jin, and North and South Dynasties, and the character of cursive script along with the flow of winds. Dai Guangyu not only expresses the “unity of man and painting” in this series of paintings, but also gives the natural world, such as water and branches, human spiritual connotations. This signifies that “Heaven and Man Are United as One.” The spiritual pattern of water connects the many contradictions of modern civilization with the ecological wisdom of classical Chinese philosophy, such as in idea of using softness to conquer strength in “Great Virtue is Like Water” and the idea of exploiting favorable situations to pursue one’s goal such as in “Great Yu combating the flood,” which inspires people to follow the laws of nature. The sparkling surface of the water, mirrored by branches dancing in the wind, points out the way to a clear world, following the way of “return.”