Abstract: Steele: I have learned a lot from classical Chinese paintings, so it is a great thing to be able to present these paintings in China.
A solo exhibition by an American female artist who has been associated with Chinese culture and the city of Shanghai, "Pat Steele", will be welcomed at the Long Museum (West Bund) on October 23.
Pat Steele, 83, was one of the first female artists to emerge from the New York art scene, and her work has been exhibited in hundreds of group exhibitions around the world and has become a permanent collection of major museums everywhere, and has been awarded the International Medal of Art by the U.S. State Department.
Work "Toei Moon Wheel"
Steele's style of work is to pour, or drip, or brush dilute paint on a standing canvas, and the final picture effect is determined by gravity, time and the fluidity of the medium. His most famous work is the "Tranquil and Hidden Waterfalls" series created by the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, USA.
Paint pours down from the giant canvas, a form that allows Steele to present a different kind of color impact and transcend the gap between figuration and abstraction. She does not focus on showing the momentum of the waterfall or the vastness of the sea, but more on depicting and evoking a state of mind.
As the American poet Anne Waldman commented, Steele's paintings allow "people to feel the intuitive and instinctive impact of her entity in space." ”
The acclaimed blue river
Steele's work is undoubtedly abstract and modern, yet surprisingly, the author was inspired by Zen Buddhism, as well as classical Chinese painting.
Steele once said in an interview, "I've always had some books on Chinese painting. I like literati paintings because of the proportions in these paintings—the scale contrast between the figures and the landscapes. For example, if a painting includes a monk watching the moon, the monk will probably only be an inch in size, almost invisible.
"He was in the world. He exists in the universe. He was gazing into the universe. It's just that there is one more monk in the universe.
"I was inspired to take the monk out of the picture and let him see the whole picture from the outside. This has also shaped the scale of my work.
"I'm not looking at the way they paint. I like the way literati paint paints, but I am not influenced by these painting methods. What influenced me was their philosophical outlook. ”
In this sense, Steele's first solo exhibition in China is a love letter to China.
In 1988, when Steele was 50 years old, she came to China, going to Beijing, Guilin and Shanghai. Among them, Shanghai is the place that impressed Steele the most.
Perhaps because of its metaphorical and symbolic connection with many of today's important philosophical ideas, water became the most important theme in Steele's work, and Shanghai was a city born on the Yangtze River.
Rainbow Falls was specially designed for solo exhibitions in Shanghai
Therefore, Steele created a special work for his exhibition, "Rainbow Waterfall", which is Steele's tribute to Shanghai. Steele said: "I think I have found empathy with the Shanghai audience. ”
Nevertheless, Steele rationally and calmly states that the language of his work is not universal, that "human beings do not understand each other, and that nothing applies to all people."
Perhaps, this is another reason why Steele's works attract people.
【Source: Labor Watch】
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