Wang Chaoying (CHINA) solo exhibition
"Heng: The resolution of paradox"

opening reception | 18:30 Thu. 4 February 2010

Thu. 4 February - Sat. 3 April 2010
Johanniterkirche
Marktgasse A-6800 Feldkirch, Austria

Tuesday - Friday | 10:00 - 12:00 / 13:00 - 18:00
Saturday | 10:00 - 14:00
closed on Sundays and Mondays

EXHIBITION PHOTOS >>

Chinese artist, designer and hieroglyphist Wang Chaoying presents an installation of 11 tableaux, where light beams in the shape of ancient Chinese characters (Miyabi) are projected onto large-scale paper cuttings suffused with Chinese motifs, contemporary design and Western patterns.

The Animistic Miyabi characters are projected onto the paper cuttings that depict modern phenomenon through traditional technique in a bid to explore the nature of light and shadow, rest and conflict, and the relationship between good intentions and harmful results.

This creates a paradox of both form and culture for the viewer to contemplate, and it is in the resolution of these facets of paradox that the artist attempts to achieve peace.

about work >>
detail (image) >>

Wang Chaoying biography:
Wang Chaoying was born 1958 in Shanghai, in the People's Republic of China. He is a graduate of the Shanghai University of Chinese Language and Literature and of the Musashino Art University of Visual Communication and Design, Japan, where he was the laureate of the "Excellent Thesis Prize" for his "Theoretical Paper on Chinese Pictography". He has been a guest professor at Musashino Art University (Japan), China Academy of Art (China) and the Shanghai University of Engineering Science (China). Numerous publications have published articles on his scientific research concerning Chinese hieroglyphic scripts.

His range of creativity involves painting, paper cutout, engraving stone seals, calligraphy, poetry and graphic design. His unique concept and communication design has been adopted in CI (cooperative Identity) designs of major companies in China and Japan.

Wang conducted a lecture tour in Europe in 2005, "The Evolution of Hieroglyphs and Culture - Dongba Characters and Kanji." He spoke at Universität für angewandte Kunst (Vienna), Fachhochschule Vorarlberg (Dornbirn), Tag der Schrift Commedia und Berufschule fuer Gestaltung, Medien Form Farbe (Zürich) and Haus der Wirtschaft (Stuttgart).

Wang presented his first contemporary art works in a joint exhibition of Japanese and Chinese artists "Yi Dong (invisible movement)" at Palais Liechtenstein Feldkirch in 2007.

about Miyabi character
The Miyabi style of characters developed as an art form, detached from the functionality of other character styles. It was intended to express the pinnacle of civilization. Miyabi characters were used exclusively by a ruler and his court. They were employed to express an aesthetic perception of nature, to metaphorically depict sexual love or the permanence of life. This was the clear purpose of these characters, so variety and originality were encouraged, even if it meant disregarding the authorized structure and stroke order of Chinese characters. Miyabi was never influenced by the developments of other scripts; it was clearly distinct from them. It is so decorative that neither the Chinese nor the Japanese can read it.

In venturing into the realm of Miyabi aestehtics an artist did nothing less than risk his life. A ruler could sentence the artist to death if he found that his work was not doing justice to the beauty of this highest form of spirituality. And quite often it was the artist himself who decided to take his own life after realizing that he had failed.

Artifacts exhibiting traces of Miyabi characters are being recovered from archaeological sites in China, giving Wang Chaoying material for his research. He now applies his knowledge to the archaeological evidence of Miyabi and, aided in part by aesthetic intuition, he attempts to piece back together the full form of the Miyabi characters and to transform the ideal to a contemporary design.

more about MIYABI character >>

JIBO - scriptorium

JI = character
BO = workshop, and monk

A group of creative people in Tokyo, Shanghai and Austria committed to building an intensive network to allow cultural exchange in exhibitions, documentary films as well as commercial projects. One of them is Wang Chaoying, whose work transforms Miyabi characters and leads to a revival of ancient aesthetic ideals in a contemporary fashion appropriate to our modern digitalised world.
Communication is the central aspect within JIBO and its mission - genuine communication beyond the barriers of nationalitiy, culture, language and even time.
At all times inner beauty and an appreciation of the alien have been orientation signs for people with a desire for true communication. To some of them JIBO offers the possibility for cooperation.

JIBO history >>

JIBO project in 2007

translation: Izumi (Gallery éf) & Dave Besseling