Dewdrop II explores classical Chinese painting
Published:Sunday | April 20, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Keisha Hill, Gleaner Writer
Classical Chinese painting has a long history and is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The art form distinguishes itself from other cultures' arts by emphasis on motion and change with dynamic life.
Recently, Jamaicans had a taste of the language of classical Chinese painting by Dr Courtney A. Hogarth, an exhibition of paintings and drawings titled 'Dewdrop II' at the Olympia Gallery. Most of the pieces on the show were done after Hogarth's return to Jamaica a few years ago.
The pieces questioned our inward and outward journeys, asked pointed questions of the society in which we live, as well as celebrated that life, which the artist described as an 'inner process'.
Hogarth holds a PhD in classical Chinese painting from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. His studio work researched the language of classical Chinese painting, while his thesis examined questions of identity in the Jamaican context.
He went to China out of a profound interest in classical Chinese painting and calligraphy, as well as Chinese philosophy and culture. He creates, utilising imagery and the written word out of the desire to interpret and share what he feels as an individual.
By making full use of the characteristic of expressing the image of ink paintings from the perspective of a foreign artist with a foreign culture, Hogarth's ink paintings give a very unique sense of beauty.
"Art is a reflection of life filtered through specific experiences, using a particular language to express themselves. The work comes from a place where you are most aware as an individual. Everything is interconnected, representing all aspects of one's life. The art is really the person, self-portraits looking beyond the visual representation that goes deeper than the surface," Hogarth said.
UNIQUE STYLE
Hogarth has absorbed the essence of Chinese painting, especially mastery of the technical skills of ink painting, allowing for the beauty of ink and water to be reflected to the greatest on Xuan paper (or rice paper, which is used for calligraphy and painting). This he combines with modern features, thus forming a unique style which is truly his own. The mysterious beauty of the East and the Western modern aesthetics interweave into the feature of ink paintings created by Hogarth.
"Art probes, questions, doubts and cultivates a knowledge of self that is affected by the environment. All senses come into play and all areas of life come into play. The artist continues to learn from life, constantly observing himself and his environment," Hogarth said.
Traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black or coloured ink; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made are paper and silk. The finished work can be mounted on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or hand scrolls. Traditional painting can also be done on album sheets, walls, lacquer ware, folding screens, and other media.
The beauty of Chinese ink paintings lies in that subtle relationship between the artist and painting materials. As a result of the combination of the special painting materials of paper and ink, together with variation in time, method and condition of the use of the ink, water, and the pi paper by the artist in the process, the artistic effects created are completely different. Hogarth successfully uses the sense of texture created by this form of painting and changes his textural effect to the elastic force of the painting, making it profound and deep.
His paintings have been exhibited at the China National Art Museum, National Gallery of Jamaica, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Grosvenor Galleries, and Revolution Galleries. He was specially invited to show in the inaugural exhibition of the Sunshine Museum, Beijing, and at the China National Exhibition Centre during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
JAMAICA-CHINA LINK
In celebration of 35 years of diplomatic relations between Jamaica and China, Hogarth curated and showed 'Journeys' in 2007. In 2006, he created an exhibition titled 'Cocoon' at the Jamaican Embassy in Beijing. It was in 2004 that he curated his first solo show in Jamaica, titled 'Spirit of the Brush - Courtney Hogarth Looks at China.'
Hogarth also writes poetry and prose dealing with the human condition, celebrating life, and questioning our journey in the quest to find love and belonging. One of his guiding philosophies is that the 'breadth of the world equals the individual's mental scope'. Hogarth believes that artists should contribute to an environment allowing for visual interpretation to dream and ideas. This will, in turn, dictate how, as creative individuals, we communicate our visions to humanity - adding strength and impetus to that universal quest, seeking to forge a more harmonious, habitable environment.
Hogarth's work has also been shown in Colombia and is housed in private collections at home and abroad. His drawings and essays have been both published and written about by visual art scholars.