Chinese painter displays invisible power of black & white

Chinese painter Lin Yueping, known for his portraits of the country's legendary devil-catcher Zhong Kui, recently opened his new gallery where his new creations reveal the spirit and power of horses and Tai Chi in black and white.

A sketch of horse by Lin Yueping.

His paintings influenced by traditional Chinese art forms, have, however, morphed into a modern style which involves both traditional and contemporary elements, he said.

By reversing the use of colors of traditional Chinese paintings comprising white rice paper as the backdrop and black ink for coloring, Lin silhouettes white horses and irregular patterns resembling the movement of Tai Chi against the black paper.

The creations, according to the painter, are his attempts to revive the cultural elements passed down by the ancients, and reflect his genuine inspiration to explore solely for art.

When introducing his art works, Lin talked about the development of Chinese paintings in the past 100 years when a westernization drive dominated society with the arts no exception.

"But the blood of Chinese people cannot withstand too many doses of coffee and fried chicken wings, such as those being sold at the chain stores of Kentucky Fried Chicken," Lin said.

Chinese painter Lin Yueping is known for his portraits of the country's legendary devil-catcher Zhong Kui.

"The centennial trend of art driven by westernization in the last century is doomed to fall because there were too many works choosing to follow the rules of Western painting instead of China's traditional painting methods. Without national identity, the paintings have been criticized for plagiarism."

According to Lin, paintings that can be recognized by the international audience should feature national traits.

Exploring the traditional styles, strokes and unspoken language of water painting has meant he is little affected by the external world.

"Arts should disclose the deepest part of an artist's soul -- the struggling and lonesome feeling that in no way yields to the percussion of the surroundings," Lin said, "By doing so, the invisible power of the painting can touch the sentiments of audience who may feel a sudden connection with the artists when taking a look at their paintings."

A sketch of Tai Chi by Lin Yueping.