The Changing Face: From Portraiture to Expressive Ink
This portrait archive traces the development of my portraiture from the 1970s to the late 1990s. Beginning with Western approaches to portrait painting in oil, pastel and mixed media, the works gradually change under the influence of my years in China and my study of Chinese painting and calligraphy.
Over time, anatomical observation and representation give way to a greater emphasis on line, gesture and expressive brushwork. The later portraits increasingly explore ink, abstraction and calligraphic elements, transforming the portrait from a representation of physical appearance into a more open investigation of character, perception and inner state.
1. The European Gaze
My early portraits, created primarily in oil, pastel and mixed media, were rooted in Western traditions of observation and representation. Light, shadow, color and anatomical structure played an important role, while portraiture offered a way to explore both physical likeness and the psychological presence of the sitter.
2. The Ink Revolution
Discovering the Brush My studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing fundamentally changed my approach to portraiture. Canvas increasingly gave way to paper, while ink and the Chinese brush opened new possibilities for line, movement and reduction.
Works from this transitional period show the process of adapting to a different visual language. Anatomical precision becomes less dominant, while rhythm, gesture and the expressive quality of the brushstroke gain importance. The portraits become larger, freer and increasingly experimental.
3. Deconstruction & Overpainting
Breaking the Image By the late 1980s and early 1990s, representation alone was no longer sufficient for what I wanted to explore. I began altering and overpainting existing images, distorting familiar features and introducing new layers of gesture and meaning.
In the later series, the transformation becomes increasingly radical. The portrait is no longer primarily an image of a face. Calligraphic marks, abstraction and expressive brushwork begin to dissolve the distinction between portraiture and contemporary ink painting.
From Likeness to Spirit
In my early portraits, physical likeness and observation played a central role. Through my encounter with Chinese painting and calligraphy, I became increasingly interested in the idea that a portrait could suggest more than external appearance.
The Chinese concept of shen (神), often associated with spirit or inner vitality, offered another way of thinking about portraiture. Gesture, rhythm and the movement of the brush became increasingly important. Rather than abandoning likeness altogether, I became interested in how appearance, character and momentary presence could coexist within a more expressive visual language.
Portraiture as a Path to Abstraction
Looking across these series, portraiture became an important field of experimentation in my artistic development. The human face provided a recognizable structure that could gradually be altered, simplified and eventually dissolved through ink, gesture and calligraphic marks.
This transition helped shape a visual language that would later extend beyond portraiture into abstraction and contemporary ink art.
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