Modern Chinese Ink Paintings

I made a visit to the British Museum today, with the intent on viewing the temporary exhibition on Modern Chinese Ink Paintings, the poster looked divine.  Alas, it was a surprisingly small exhibition and the poster sort of gave the wrong impression - I was hoping that a lot of the works were going to represent the same calibre as the beautiful drawing of a poppy flower (2007) by Liu Dan.  It was a mixed bag - a lot in the very traditionalist style of Chinese ink paintings but with the subject having a contemporary twist.

The poppy in particular, as well as a series of paintings of a rock (also Liu Dan) were very much in tune with the Victorian style of anatomical drawing - seemingly mark making to the very last vein in the stem or crevasse in a rock.    These two paintings were my favourite and really represent the sheer skill and talent of these Chinese ink artists.  Complex yet delicate can only describe the beauty of these images.  

Then there was an incredible painting (also Liu Dan) of a Chinese Dictionary - the placard on the wall described how Chinese Dictionary's during the revolution became very simplified and therefore I think the artist was making a political stand against the significant importance of chinese culture which the revolution was set to curtail.  The two pages are open on the description of Jade and Water - which it goes onto describe the Chinese representation of Jade and water being a connection to Ying and Yang the ultimate opposites in nature, but also the fact that these two substances had massive importance in China and its history. The painting is pretty much photo-real, you really have to look closely to believe its painted.