Walasse Ting

WALASSE TING (Shanghai, China, 1929 - New York, USA, 2010).
"Composition".1959.
Ink and gouache on paper.
Signed and dated in Vevwy (Switzerland).
Measurements: 47.3 x 29.3 cm; 61.5 x 43 cm (frame).

An explosion of gestures, stains and chromatic hallmarks defines this intense abstract composition realized by Walasse Ting at the end of the fifties. Executed in ink and gouache on paper, the work shows a vibrant surface built by splashes, energetic strokes and pigment absorption effects that generate a dynamic image, close to automatism and the aesthetics of informalism and abstract expressionism.

The free use of stain and gesture reveals the artist's interest in experimental processes and in the synthesis between the Eastern calligraphic tradition and the Western abstract currents that he came to know during his stay in Europe and the United States. The result is a composition of great visual strength in which the rhythm of the brushstroke and the pictorial matter acquire absolute prominence.

Wallace Ting was a Chinese artist and poet trained briefly at the Shanghai Art Academy. After leaving China in 1946 he settled in Paris, where he began to incorporate influences from Western art, especially expressionism and Picasso. In 1958 he traveled to New York, where his work achieved recognition within the context of abstract expressionism, developing a poetic abstraction influenced by traditional Chinese aesthetics.

From the 1970s he consolidated his most characteristic style, combining oriental calligraphic brushwork with intense acrylic colors. In 1970 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship and his work is part of important collections such as the Tate Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum and the Guggenheim in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Hong Kong Museum of Art.