Born in 1960 in China, Wang Tiande is one of the most significant and innovative calligraphers of present times, internationally renowned for his revolutionary takes on traditional Chinese art. A graduate of the Chinese Painting Department at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in 1988, the artist is now dean and professor at the Art and Design Department of the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai. Characteristically using incense sticks to burn symbols, which resemble Chinese characters, onto rice paper, Wang Tiande’s work has been collected by the British Museum, London, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Boston Museum of Fine Art, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Shanghai Museum of Art, Guangdong Art Museum, Shenzhen Art Museum and JP Morgan Bank.
Viewing 1 works by Wang Tiande
Sort
Publications 
Publications
Mountain Forward , 2014
Biography
Biography
Born in 1960 in China, Wang Tiande is one of the most significant and innovative calligraphers of present times, internationally renowned for his revolutionary takes on traditional Chinese art. A graduate of the Chinese Painting Department at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in 1988, the artist is now dean and professor at the Art and Design Department of the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai. Characteristically using incense sticks to burn symbols, which resemble Chinese characters, onto rice paper, Wang Tiande’s work has been collected by the British Museum, London, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Boston Museum of Fine Art, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Shanghai Museum of Art, Guangdong Art Museum, Shenzhen Art Museum and JP Morgan Bank.
Breathing new life into archaic ink styles, the art of Wang Tiande is a masterful coalescence of literati art and contemporary aesthetics. Skilfully using incense sticks to create layers of singed imagery, the artist combines landscape images and diaphanous layers of burned xuan paper to create what has been called ‘Hallucinogenic Cultural Imagination.’ Driving the viewer’s field of vision, the landscape horizons are represented through burnt traces and marks that are as controlled and deliberate as the brush and ink that define them. The dizzying double vision is accentuated by calligraphic elements that provide abstract impositions, exaggerating the palpable sense of weightlessness. Meditating on creation and destruction, the simultaneous ephemeral and fleeting qualities of Wang Tiande are a poetic celebration and elegy to both past and present.
The artist’s signature style of double-layered painting consists of ink landscapes illustrated through scripts topped by an upper-layer of burned landscapes, which are then juxtaposed with monotypes from antique steles collected by the artist. In literati paintings, mountains represent the personality and merits of the artist; and Wang Tiande is one of their contemporary virtuosos, expressing his inner awakenings through the expression of his art. Delving into the conceptual introspections that form the framework of Chinese art perception today, Wang Tiande moves beyond the mountains of history and tradition, moving monumentally forward with revolutionary steps of fire and ink.
Breathing new life into archaic ink styles, the art of Wang Tiande is a masterful coalescence of literati art and contemporary aesthetics. Skilfully using incense sticks to create layers of singed imagery, the artist combines landscape images and diaphanous layers of burned xuan paper to create what has been called ‘Hallucinogenic Cultural Imagination.’ Driving the viewer’s field of vision, the landscape horizons are represented through burnt traces and marks that are as controlled and deliberate as the brush and ink that define them. The dizzying double vision is accentuated by calligraphic elements that provide abstract impositions, exaggerating the palpable sense of weightlessness. Meditating on creation and destruction, the simultaneous ephemeral and fleeting qualities of Wang Tiande are a poetic celebration and elegy to both past and present.
The artist’s signature style of double-layered painting consists of ink landscapes illustrated through scripts topped by an upper-layer of burned landscapes, which are then juxtaposed with monotypes from antique steles collected by the artist. In literati paintings, mountains represent the personality and merits of the artist; and Wang Tiande is one of their contemporary virtuosos, expressing his inner awakenings through the expression of his art. Delving into the conceptual introspections that form the framework of Chinese art perception today, Wang Tiande moves beyond the mountains of history and tradition, moving monumentally forward with revolutionary steps of fire and ink.
Exhibitions
Exhibitions
Selcted exhibitions:
2020
Taipei Dangdai Art & Ideas Contemporary Art Fair, Alisan Fine Arts, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Taipei, Taiwan
Wang Tiande: Winter of Longing, Ink Studios, Beijing, China
2019
Arts of China: New Acquisitions, Asian Galleries, Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Ink at Current: 10th International Ink Art Biennial of Shenzhen, OCT Art & Design Gallery, Shenzhen, China
Art Basel Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
2018
Art 021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair 2018, Alisan Fine Arts, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China
Ink Worlds: Contemporary Chinese Painting from the Collection of Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang, The Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA
AWAITING - New Works by Wang Tiande, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
From the Canglang Pavilion, Suzhou Jinji Lake Art Museum, Suzhou, China
2017
Art 021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Alisan Fine Arts, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China
Crisscrossing East and West: The remarking of Ink Art in Contemporary East Asia, MOCA Yinchuan, Ningxia, China
Over Mountains and Across Valleys, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
2016
Contemporary Landscapes: From Modern Classics to the New Vanguard, Art Basel Hong Kong
Oriental Charm: Ink Art in Shanghai and Hong Kong 2016, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai; Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong
2015
Tracing the Brush, Transformed Text, Ink Asia, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
Wang Tiande Art Exhibition, The Palace Museum, Garden of the Palace of Established Happiness, Beijing, China
2014
Within & Without, Museum of Stanford University, California, USA
Mountain Forward, Ode To Art, Singapore
2013
Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Art Basel in Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
2012
Chinese Modern Art Exhibition, British Museum, London, UK
International Ink Exhibition, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
2011
Boat, Galerie 99, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Red Flag: Contemporary Chinese Art in Montreal Collection, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada
Word: China Mainland Contemporary Art Exhibition, Huashan1914 Creative Park, Taipei, Taiwan
Fei Du, Xunyao Chinese Characters Art & Culture Museum, Chengdu, China
Papercut: Exhibition of Sino-German Contemporary Art, South Bund Art Space, Shanghai, China
Different Ink Art, Shangdong Contemporary Art Centre, Nanjing, China
2010
Create Something Out of Nothing, Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong
ART HK 10, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
New Ink, Mingyuan Art Center, Shanghai, China
Memories of the Past: Contemporary Chinese Ink Painting, Art Museum of Transylvania University, Kentucky, USA
2009
Yi Pai: Contemporary Chinese Art, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Contemporary Ink Art: Evolution, Harvard University, Boston, USA
2008
2nd Modern Ink Biennial, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, Taiwan
Ink Not Ink: Contemporary Chinese Art, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA; Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Contemporary Ink Art: Evolution, Museum of Contemporary Art, Beijing, China; Raab Galerie, Berlin, Germany
Yi Pai: Chinese Abstract Art 30 Years, La Caixa Forum, Barcelona, Spain
2007
China Onward: The Estella Collection: Chinese Contemporary Art 1966-2006, Louisiana Museum, Louisiana, USA
FUN, Taipei Calligraphy Biennial, Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
China New Vision: Chinese Contemporary Art Collection, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2006
Revival: New Ink Art, Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
China Trade, International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Vancouver, Canada
Calligraphy Scene, Heng Lu Museum of Art, Hangzhou, China
International Exhibition of Art & Calligraphy, Seoul Art Centre, Seoul, Korea
Light on China Art Generation, Palazzo Capponi, Florence, Italy
Brush and Ink: The Chinese Art of Writing, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
2005
2nd Chengdu Biennial, Chengdu Museum of Modern Art, Sichuan, China
Present for Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Contemporary Chinese Ink Painting in China and Korea, Seoul Art Museum, Seoul, Korea
2004
Dream of Dragon, Contemporary Chinese Art, Dublin Contemporary Art Museum, Dublin, Ireland
Contemporary Art from Shanghai, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, Germany
4th International Biennial of Ink Painting, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Nomination Exhibition, Art Museum of Hubei Academy of Art, Wuhan, China
2003
An Opening Era, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
White East: 20th Century Chinese Paintings, Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris, France
Dots and Beyond, Malaysia National Art Museum, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2002
0 Material, Central Academy of Art, Beijing, China
New Ink Paintings, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
East + West: Contemporary Chinese Art, Kunst Haus Wien, Vienna, Austria
2001
Chinese Feeling, Siwei Commercial Centre, Changsha, China
Reshuffling, Shenzhen Sculpture Institute, Shenzhen, China
Exhibition of Abstract Ink, Xi’an International Exhibition Centre, Xi’an, China
Ink Colour, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2000
Neo-Ink Paintings in China 2000, Liu Haisu Museum of Art, Shanghai; Jiangsu Art Museum, Nanjing, China
2nd International Biennial of Ink Painting, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
2020
Taipei Dangdai Art & Ideas Contemporary Art Fair, Alisan Fine Arts, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Taipei, Taiwan
Wang Tiande: Winter of Longing, Ink Studios, Beijing, China
2019
Arts of China: New Acquisitions, Asian Galleries, Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Ink at Current: 10th International Ink Art Biennial of Shenzhen, OCT Art & Design Gallery, Shenzhen, China
Art Basel Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
2018
Art 021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair 2018, Alisan Fine Arts, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China
Ink Worlds: Contemporary Chinese Painting from the Collection of Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang, The Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA
AWAITING - New Works by Wang Tiande, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
From the Canglang Pavilion, Suzhou Jinji Lake Art Museum, Suzhou, China
2017
Art 021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Alisan Fine Arts, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China
Crisscrossing East and West: The remarking of Ink Art in Contemporary East Asia, MOCA Yinchuan, Ningxia, China
Over Mountains and Across Valleys, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
2016
Contemporary Landscapes: From Modern Classics to the New Vanguard, Art Basel Hong Kong
Oriental Charm: Ink Art in Shanghai and Hong Kong 2016, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai; Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong
2015
Tracing the Brush, Transformed Text, Ink Asia, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
Wang Tiande Art Exhibition, The Palace Museum, Garden of the Palace of Established Happiness, Beijing, China
2014
Within & Without, Museum of Stanford University, California, USA
Mountain Forward, Ode To Art, Singapore
2013
Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Art Basel in Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
2012
Chinese Modern Art Exhibition, British Museum, London, UK
International Ink Exhibition, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
2011
Boat, Galerie 99, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Red Flag: Contemporary Chinese Art in Montreal Collection, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada
Word: China Mainland Contemporary Art Exhibition, Huashan1914 Creative Park, Taipei, Taiwan
Fei Du, Xunyao Chinese Characters Art & Culture Museum, Chengdu, China
Papercut: Exhibition of Sino-German Contemporary Art, South Bund Art Space, Shanghai, China
Different Ink Art, Shangdong Contemporary Art Centre, Nanjing, China
2010
Create Something Out of Nothing, Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong
ART HK 10, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
New Ink, Mingyuan Art Center, Shanghai, China
Memories of the Past: Contemporary Chinese Ink Painting, Art Museum of Transylvania University, Kentucky, USA
2009
Yi Pai: Contemporary Chinese Art, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Contemporary Ink Art: Evolution, Harvard University, Boston, USA
2008
2nd Modern Ink Biennial, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, Taiwan
Ink Not Ink: Contemporary Chinese Art, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA; Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Contemporary Ink Art: Evolution, Museum of Contemporary Art, Beijing, China; Raab Galerie, Berlin, Germany
Yi Pai: Chinese Abstract Art 30 Years, La Caixa Forum, Barcelona, Spain
2007
China Onward: The Estella Collection: Chinese Contemporary Art 1966-2006, Louisiana Museum, Louisiana, USA
FUN, Taipei Calligraphy Biennial, Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
China New Vision: Chinese Contemporary Art Collection, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2006
Revival: New Ink Art, Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
China Trade, International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Vancouver, Canada
Calligraphy Scene, Heng Lu Museum of Art, Hangzhou, China
International Exhibition of Art & Calligraphy, Seoul Art Centre, Seoul, Korea
Light on China Art Generation, Palazzo Capponi, Florence, Italy
Brush and Ink: The Chinese Art of Writing, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
2005
2nd Chengdu Biennial, Chengdu Museum of Modern Art, Sichuan, China
Present for Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Contemporary Chinese Ink Painting in China and Korea, Seoul Art Museum, Seoul, Korea
2004
Dream of Dragon, Contemporary Chinese Art, Dublin Contemporary Art Museum, Dublin, Ireland
Contemporary Art from Shanghai, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, Germany
4th International Biennial of Ink Painting, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Nomination Exhibition, Art Museum of Hubei Academy of Art, Wuhan, China
2003
An Opening Era, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
White East: 20th Century Chinese Paintings, Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris, France
Dots and Beyond, Malaysia National Art Museum, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2002
0 Material, Central Academy of Art, Beijing, China
New Ink Paintings, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
East + West: Contemporary Chinese Art, Kunst Haus Wien, Vienna, Austria
2001
Chinese Feeling, Siwei Commercial Centre, Changsha, China
Reshuffling, Shenzhen Sculpture Institute, Shenzhen, China
Exhibition of Abstract Ink, Xi’an International Exhibition Centre, Xi’an, China
Ink Colour, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2000
Neo-Ink Paintings in China 2000, Liu Haisu Museum of Art, Shanghai; Jiangsu Art Museum, Nanjing, China
2nd International Biennial of Ink Painting, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Stay connected.
Sign up to our newsletter for updates on new arrivals and exhibitions