Abstract
Lee Chun-yi’s intricate pictures on a textual matrix appear at once antique and contemporary. Using soft wood or cork, he meticulously stamps ink into small squares that coalesce into landscapes, flowers, rocks, and trees. These pictures have been compared to French pointillism and the pixelated photorealism of Chuck Close. At the same time, they bring to mind Chinese steles and Su Shi’s (1037-1101) delight in seeing “painting in poetry and poetry in painting” (shi zhong you hua, hua zhong you shi). However, unlike Su’s original praise of Wang Wei’s (699-759) literati expressiveness, the image-word synthesis becomes for Lee a vehicle for commenting on contemporary conditions. The stele format—orderly arrangement of characters on a gridded surface—is solemn and formal. Steles were used in the Confucian context during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220) for the commemoration of events, rituals, and virtues. In the Northern and Southern dynasties (386-589), Buddhists made their own versions as votive objects. Buddhist steles were often dedicatory, produced to garner and wish for karmic credits for the deceased. Lee harnesses these multiple sources for a masterful reinvention of ink painting. The current exhibition showcases some of his most ambitious works to date.