Seemingly shifting away from ink tradition,
Peng Wei (b. 1974) focuses her exploration in
contemporary aesthetics on ink, and further transcends tradition. Her work
revolves around the past of art, including the wisdom, memories, sorrows, and
sense of reality found in ancient work. Her new series “Peep” is an extension from
last year’s narrative paintings Seven Nights. Enlarging
specific details of Seven Nights, the
artist limns these scenes in colored ink on oval-shaped silk in the “Peep”
series, transforming the oval shape into a lens through which the viewer quietly
peeps. Rooted in traditional literati painting, her work incorporates everyday epiphanies
and female reflection into elegant and delicate ink paintings, portraying the
soft yet persevering spirit of Chinese literati.