Spiritual Mountains debuts a recent gift to BAMPFA of eleven paintings by the Hong Kong artist Wesley Tongson (1957-2012). His work draws heavily on traditional Chinese painting techniques and processes, including painting with his fingers and hands, but takes these a step further to create a personal expression that is wholly his own. This exhibition combines Tongson's works with historic paintings from BAMPFA's extensive Chinese painting collection to demonstrate the relationship between his genius and that of past masters. Throughout Tongson's practice, we perceive a strong admiration and acknowledgement of the past, even as he pursued a new direction in his own work. It is in his highly lyrical brushwork and exuberant style of painting--which included large-scale landscapes and intricately patterned, dense examinations of the natural world--that we comprehend his range and genius.
Image Credit: Wesley Tongson: Untitled, from the Spiritual Mountain series, 2012; ink on paper; 49 x 96 in.; BAMPFA, gift of Lilia and Kenneth Tongson.
show less
Image Credit: Wesley Tongson: Untitled, from the Spiritual Mountain series, 2012; ink on paper; 49 x 96 in.; BAMPFA, gift of Lilia and Kenneth Tongson.
Spiritual Mountains debuts a recent gift to BAMPFA of eleven paintings by the Hong Kong artist Wesley Tongson (1957-2012). His work draws heavily on traditional Chinese painting techniques and processes, including painting with his fingers and hands, but takes these a step further to create a personal expression that is wholly his own. This exhibition combines Tongson's works with historic paintings from BAMPFA's extensive Chinese painting collection to demonstrate the relationship between his genius and that of past masters. Throughout Tongson's practice, we perceive a strong admiration and acknowledgement of the past, even as he pursued a new direction in his own work. It is in his highly lyrical brushwork and exuberant style of painting--which included large-scale landscapes and intricately patterned, dense examinations of the natural world--that we comprehend his range and genius.
Image Credit: Wesley Tongson: Untitled, from the Spiritual Mountain series, 2012; ink on paper; 49 x 96 in.; BAMPFA, gift of Lilia and Kenneth Tongson.
read more
Image Credit: Wesley Tongson: Untitled, from the Spiritual Mountain series, 2012; ink on paper; 49 x 96 in.; BAMPFA, gift of Lilia and Kenneth Tongson.
show less
Date/Times:
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)
41 Upcoming Events
2155 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94720
The Best Events
Every Week in Your Inbox
From Our Sponsors
UPCOMING EVENTS
Great suggestion! We'll be in touch.
Event reviewed successfully.