In Furious Bloom III

Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions

Archival pigment print on Canson Edition etching paper

Asian Society Texas, Houston

Feb 20 – July 2, 2023

 

In Furious Bloom III is a limited edition print of an enormous chrysanthemum blossoming amid a field of blackened foliage. This image was taken by the artist from the installation In Furious Bloom, 2010, where a tableaux of live flowering plants were painted black with Chinese ink.

 

墨 Mo, Chinese ink, has been the main medium for expression and communication for centuries in East Asia. It embodies all colors, emulates all forms, gives meaning to brush strokes, and aesthetic achievements. Concurrently, black is the culmination of all colors and absent of all light. It is also a powerful symbol of void and muteness. Rather than painting flowers on paper, the ink is directly applied to plants, in three-dimensional space, with time being the fourth dimension that is witness to the change occurring to the vegetation throughout the exhibition period. 

 

In Furious Bloom III is featured in "Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions," an exhibition curated by Susan L. Beningson, highlighting intergenerational contemporary artists who are expanding the dialogues of Chinese Art traditions and materials.