This exhibition displays five paintings, three of which can be found in the Chu-Griffis art collection. And the other two are created by an American artist. While I analyzed all of the paintings I would argue that Whitney Bedford, the American artist in the exhibition, could have been influenced by Asian landscape paintings. Some techniques used with the ink seem to be used in Whitney Bedford’s artwork. However Bedford uses a lot more color in her pieces which give the paintings a more modern day feel. This would make sense due to the fact that her work is much more recent. I chose all of these specific paintings because I was interested in the theme of water in artwork. Water is a simple yet very common feature to see in any form of art. So why is that? That was the question I conducted my research around. Water can represent a variety of things
Overview of Exhibition (500 words)
Artist: Chen Chin-chang
Date: 1929
Medium: Hanging Scroll, ink and color on rice paper
Dimensions: 34 x 21 in.
Location: Chu Griffis Art Collection
This piece shows a busy landscape with lots of fog and water splashing everywhere. There looks to be a boat making its way down a river between two large rock walls. This painting uses no contour lines and just uses a big brush to apply the ink where needed.
Artist: Lu Yi-fei
Date: 1931
Medium: Hanging Scroll, ink and color on rice paper
Dimensions: 35 x 19 in.
Location: Chu Griffis Art Collection
This painting shows a waterfall between two large cliffs. In the background you can see faint mountain ranges. Like the first painting the artist didn’t make many lines, but instead, allowed the ink to move on the paper, creating a watery texture.
Artist: Yang Yan-wen
Date: 1939
Medium: Hanging Scroll, Ink and Color on Rice Paper
Dimensions: 22 x 19 in.
Location: Chu Griffis Art Collection
This painting is a little different from the other two I looked at. It does show a body of water however the water in this painting is much more tranquil. At the bottom of the piece you can see that the artist made intentional lines to portray the little sail boats on the water. Toward the top of the page however, he let the ink take over part of the sky.
Creator: Whitney Bedford
Title: Untitled (Blue Heaven)
Material: Ink and Oil on Panel
Date: 2005
Location: Exhibited at D’Amelio Terras Gallery, Spring 2005
Measurements: 34″ x 48
I chose this painting because it felt almost like it was inspired by the first three asian artworks done in ink but in this painting Bedford used some color which made it seem more modern. I love the subtle colors in contrast to the little spots of bright oranges and purples. It really draws your eye to the busy places in the painting. I chose this piece specifically because it reminded me of the third painting of the sail boats. It looks like there is a similar technique used with the black ink in the sky.
Title: Untitled (Carioca)
Date: 2005
Creater: Whitney Bedford
Location: Exhibited at D’Amelio Terras Gallery, Spring 2005
Material: Ink and oil on panel
Measurements: 28″ x 37
This piece uses a lot of color that contrasts. I think the blue water could be seen as symbolic either of peace or wisdom. Like her other work this painting is abstract and not completely clear to the viewer. She does put some of the blue from the water in the orange sky and also puts little specks of some of the orange sky in. I like that she uses many different shades of blue and orange to make this piece really interesting.
