A Conversation with Qin Feng: Portraits & Desires in Ink

Merging an ink-and-wash and calligraphic style with a western abstract aesthetic, established Chinese contemporary artist Qin Feng re-interprets the age-old medium of ink painting infusing it with a new life and colour. In this interview by Christie’s auction house, Qin Feng shares more with us on his artistic philosophy and creation ideas.

Qin Feng’s (b. 1961) art blends Eastern and Western qualities. His works follow the traditional Chinese manner of brushing black ink onto paper in a calligraphic style, but Qin’s aggressive physicality and spontaneously applied marks betray a deep understanding of Western gestural abstraction. Qin’s international outlook was born during his childhood herding sheep in China’s harshly beautiful and multicultural, far western Xinjiang Autonomous Region. In his early twenties, Qin travelled east to study at the Shandong University of Art and Design. Then, in his thirties, he taught at the Berlin University of the Arts, before going on to New York City and Boston, where he did a residency at Harvard University.