Ink painting is recognised as the foundation stone of Chinese civilisation, and its contemporary manifestations, though very diverse, draw freely from the classical canon. The constituency for appreciation of the new ink painting is made by cognoscenti who have, or who are beginning to develop, a broad interest in China’s history and in the vitality of her contemporary culture. The pressure on ink painters therefore to “perform” for a new clientele is less than the need to meet the critical challenge of how to render this traditional medium relevant and meaningful to the modern world.

Beneath the turbulent surface of the mainstream Chinese contemporary market flowed a consistent rhythm of experimentation by ink painters and calligraphers whose diverse output has provided opportunities for a cultivated minority to enjoy not only the subtle connection with the literati past but also the artists’ engagement with the realities of contemporary life.

An increasing momentum of institutional interest in the field has taken place over the past years, with distinguished exhibitions held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard and beyond around the world.

The contemporary Chinese ink artists that we recommend include Liu Dan, Qin Feng, Xu Lei and Wei Ligang.