In this survey of works on paper and works that utilize paper in different ways, six Chinese artists of different generations offer surprising perspectives on the range of artistic practice in China today and the versatility of the material itself. In the hands of Lu Shengzhong (b.1952) and his pupil Wu Jian’an (b.1980), paper is colored and cut until its structural cohesiveness is virtually denied. Lu Shengzhong, the pioneer in the scholarly investigation of this traditional form of Chinese folk art, developed his own intricate expressive style, using the left-over scraps from the paper-cutting process as essential parts of the overall design. Wu Jian’an used the techniques he had learned from his master in a highly idiosyncratic way. Speaking of his wild inventions, he has said that “I systematically dissected my mind, as if to reveal everything inside and hang up the contents to expose them in the sun.” Tibetan thangkas and Salvador Dali at his most delirious meet in the paper-cuts of Wu Jian’an.

Hong Hao (b.1965) is also obsessed with paper although he values it for its traditional role as a purveyor of printed information. Having started as a print-maker with the celebrated Selected Scriptures, Hong Hao turned to the theme of the book in a virtuoso series of three-dimensional works, including The Manuscript for Oahgnoh Biennale A and B, 2003-2004 and Mexico-Huun-Amate, 2004.

Unlike many of his contemporaries Wang Tiande (b.1960) did not turn to oil painting at the beginning of his career but decided that his preference lay in “redefining ink painting and calligraphy, the most value-laden of China’s art forms.” While Ai Weiwei smashed and painted over Neolithic and Han Dynasty vessels, Wang Tiande made ordinary vessels and wine bottles more precious by covering them in integuments of Chinese paper suffused with ink wash.

These three-dimensional works contrast with the more conventional format of the ink paintings and watercolors of Qiu Zhijie (b.1969) and Guo Hongwei (b.1982), the youngest artists in the group. Qiu Zhijie has established his reputation as one of the foremost experimental artists in China, but he is also a gifted practitioner of the traditional Chinese art forms, ink painting and calligraphy. Deeply rooted in Chinese tradition but resolutely contemporary in the free-wheeling nature of the imagery, the group of works on paper included in the exhibition is being shown for the first time as a delay at US Customs prevented them from arriving in time for the March 12 opening of his one person show.

In contrast Guo Hongwei does not dwell in the ancient past and has no particular interest in the rich cultural history of his native land. Slightly removed from the immediate present, Guo Hongwei looks back in time to his own childhood and adolescence for the subject- matter of his poetic and humorous watercolors. Seemingly effortless, these rapidly executed watercolors are notable for the control he is able to maintain over his fluid medium.