About the Artist

Having arrived in Paris in 1948, French-Chinese artist T’ang Haywen (1927–1991) began propagating the art of Chinese ink painting in the 1960s. He crossed the boundaries of his predecessors and explored the full potential of ink, elevating it to the status of a universal language.

​

T’ang Haywen’s atmospheric imagery can be divided into two categories: monochromatic ink-and-wash paintings and brightly exuberant watercolors. “We are only sensitive cells entering the stream,” T’ang once said, “we capture the energy source; the immediate seizure materializes with ink, paper and pencil.” Similar to Joan Mitchell’s pastel drawings, T’ang’s watercolors depict abstract landscapes composed of naturalistic colors and miasmas of soft, chromatic fields. His works—with their vertical orientation —  resemble traditional Chinese landscape paintings of cloudy mountains, but are also balanced with contemporary Western conceptions of the genre. T’ang’s triptych format simultaneously evokes the Eastern tradition of vertical imagery and the horizontal landscape paintings of Western art history.

​

A pressing sense of 'you only live once' prompted T'ang Haywen to make the most of the time he had, staying true to himself and embracing the world around him. He never stopped travelling, discovering and searching for the unknown. His sensitivity allowed him to convey what he held in his mind and heart, as well as clearly understand the essence of the natural world. T'ang used ink and watercolour to depict the universe; each uncorrected and instinctive brushstroke carries the breath, touch, speed and weight of the artist.

​

T’ang’s work is famous throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe and he has pieces in prominent museums including the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the M+ Museum in Hong Kong.

​