Chen Chin-chang (b. 1929)
Hanging Scroll, Ink and Color on Rice Paper, 34 x 21 in., (86 x 53 cm.)

Professor Chen Chin-chang of Canton Academy of Fine Arts has devoted himself to landscape painting. He graduated from and taught at art academies until his retirement. Through his colleague, Professor Yang Zhi-guang, one of the first Artists-in-Residence at the Griffis Art Center, we acquired this painting in 1992.

Looking at this vertical landscape painting, one sees rocky hills and mountains on both sides of a rapid river with two barges floating down the stream. To analyze the details of the painting, the differences between an old traditional landscape painting such as the two large scrolls in the room are obvious. Some of the modern day landscape paintings, like this one, use no contour lines, no textural wrinklings as shown in the other two. Instead, a big ink brush is used to portray rocks; different shaped dots, almost like Western pointillism, mark the surface of the cliffs and high mountains. Technically, this way of painting is less time-consuming than the old way, although it is a technique sometimes used in early paintings. This is not an elaborately executed painting. The older traditional brush line drawing is missing. However, under the brush of Professor Chen the beauty of a corner of the landscape does have a lyrical quality in this monochrome painting.

This painting was purchased with funds provided by Susan and David Zimmerman, class of '75.