Tag: art theory
-
Dot and Emptiness: The Essence of Chinese Art
An article about the significance of Dot and Emptiness in Chinese artistic traditions. This theme reveals the essence of Chinese painting after my lecture from January 9, 2026
-
State of the Art 2025
State of the Art 2025 is my contribution this year to an ongoing series of “self-portraits.” For years, these pieces have documented my creative journey, reflecting the current status of my work.
-
Nothingness in Color
Nothingness in Color continues the thought experiment that began with the journey to the Zen master—evolving beyond monochrome, embracing color, and preserving the essence of minimalism
-
Goodbye to the Winter
Explore the artist’s journey from winter’s darkness to spring’s light through abstract paintings. Learn how black paper challenges traditional Chinese painting concepts.
-
Meditation of the Zen Master
Explore the meditation practices of the Zen Master in this insightful article. Gain profound insights and discover the beauty and tranquility of Zen.
-
Journey to the Zen Master
This is the second part of a three-part article on a Journey to a Zen Master. We encounter the living space of the master.
-
The Journey to the Zen Master
This article explores an imaginary journey to a Zen master, represented through a series of paintings. It delves into philosophical reflections on Zen, using a combination of western and eastern artistic techniques to illustrate the transition from the real world to a spiritual one. The journey begins at a busy train station and gradually leads…
-
The Dao of Annual Planning in 2024
New Year’s Resolutions and Implementation Annual Planning and Dao: Today’s article focuses on a personal topic that I hope my valued readers can benefit from. It also includes reflections on topics such as SEO and AI, which were cut off during the year and are now revisited at the end of the year. When discussing…
-
Emperor Hui Zong: When Rulers Still Loved Art
Emperor Hui Zong, a significant ruler of the Song Dynasty but also a remarkable artist and a patron of the arts.
-
Discovering the Beauty in the Ugly
Exploring Aesthetic Sensibilities Through Photography. Discovering the Beauty in the Ugly – or at least discover something attractive in the ugly: In our last article, we delved into the concept of wabi-sabi and I shared some of my work. Thanks for the positive feedback! Today, we will go a step beyond wabi-sabi, using photos from…
-
Wabi Sabi and the Aesthetics of Imperfection
Wabi Sabi, a term relatively unknown in the West until recently, holds a special place in my heart. This article reflects my personal approach to Wabi Sabi, illustrated with my own works painted this year.
-
Theme and Variations
In the series “Theme and Variations about a Blossom in Autumn,” the delicate image of a fading blossom takes center stage, offering an allusion to the graceful aging of a young lady.
-
Daoist Aspects in My Paintings
Today’s article is divided into two interconnected parts. The sequence of images, all recent works, illustrates my approach to the concept of Nothingness.
-
Delving into the Realm of Seals on Artwork
Article about the fascinating world of Chinese seals. From a carver and collector. And above all, an enthusiast.
-
new yearbook is out
surprising stats and tensions. New yearbook is out. To keep things interesting, this blog article comes with two extras. I’ll start with the extras first, and for some reason, the main text will come at the end. Contrary to my previous habits, the main text takes up a few thoughts on current events. These days,…
-
Wu Wei a Key Term. Daoist Talks (X)
Chinese Painting and Wu Wei. Wu Wei is a key concept in Daoism. It is an idea that originated in ancient Chinese philosophy and is of central importance to Daoism. However, the term is not always easy to understand, at least for Westerners. But understanding it can help us in many ways, not only in…
-
Summer swan song – or the bitter croaking of ravens
The summer holidays are just around the corner and the last article concludes for the time being on the basis of 2 pictures with the theme of emptiness.
-
Gaining by letting go
Gaining by letting go is again a formulation that could come from the field of esotericism. I have previously indicated that this is not an area in which I am proficient.
-
Cucumber cutting, abstracting and –
A few quick notes on our world of perception, from slicing cucumbers to the feeling of diving. And about abstraction itself.
-
The children’s book of my last post
The children’s book of my last post is not a project in progress, it’s just a play around. If you want to play, play with us! Now that I have started with the topic and my last post on it received such positive feedback, I would like to write a little more about it. Thanks…
-
new horizon
A few weeks ago I came across a meditation where you should practice the following: Sit on a high level and imagine the wide horizon in front of you. Easy. But then: “Imagine the wide horizon BEHIND you”. And then the horizon left and right. That changed a few things for me.
-
Dao in Chinese Poetry. Daoist Talks (VII).
Dao in Chinese Poetry: Two masterpieces of classical Chinese poetry with a Taoist structure. Li Bai and Du Fu.
-
Criticism: Not amused with the Emperor
A few criticism examples by Chinese artists over time. Most of my blog posts deal directly or indirectly with art in the broadest sense. This is insofar as I attach great importance to dealing with Asian philosophies and art history in the broadest sense. I don’t touch on political issues, although this post might suggest…
-
Daoist talks (VI) Principles of Dao in Painting
Daoist talks (VI) Principles of Dao in Painting: Chinese painting of the last 1000 years has been shaped primarily by Daoist ideas.
-
Daoist talks (V) Dao and Zen in Arts – analyzed by AI
What AI says, answering my question: The Role of Dao and Zen in Chinese Painting
-
Daoist talks (IV): Liang Kai The Story of Eight Eminent Monks
Liang Kai is best known in the West for his painting of Li Bai. Only a few know the scroll of “The story of eight eminent monks”.
-
Daoist Talks (III): The Cosmos in One Dot
Mindfulness in a dot After a lot of theory, we want to highlight practical aspects today, but first a summary of the last post: Everything is Dao, from the smallest dot to the universe; thus, everything is imbued with Dao, especially the counterplay of yin and yang. These are not opposing forces but depend on…
-
Daoist Talks (II): The Basics
Our main topic will be Daoism in Chinese painting. Understanding the essential aspects of the Dao should help us to understand Chinese painting better and more profoundly.
-
how we (I) see
Many years ago I read an article about viewing habits. A certain audience was asked the question (sort of): “Do you think we all see the same thing when we look at something?”
-
now and zen and later
A few decades ago, the term Zen moment was quite unknown in the West. Today it has become a consumer item and similar to the pair of terms feng shui 風水, most people do not understand what it is actually about.
-
triptych variant
I presented a tryptich a few days ago. As is so often the case, the underlying idea has not been shelved for me and so I wanted to see how a variant could look like. So I created another work to replace one of the triptych.
-
waltzing corona
My first painting this year is this triptych. I will take this as an opportunity to present my point of view, because if I can manage to explain the essential points clearly, you may look at Chinese art from a different perspective in the future.
-
another one of those
Today I would like to present a newer picture and originally I had no intention of writing about it, at least almost. Why this?
-
better this time – I think
After I decided yesterday to throw away a piece of work I painted the basic idea of that work in a completely different version and I’m relatively satisfied with the result.
-
The Essence of Chinese Painting (IX)
The Essence of Chinese Painting Part 3. This artivcle is dealing with the structure in Chinese painting by using some examples.
-
if sharks were people
Among other things, Berthold Brecht wrote short stories, the “Stories from Mr. Keuner” are particularly well known. I would like to present a story here. If the sharks were people.
-
Mu Qi. 6 Persimmons – an interpretation
6 Persimmons – an interpretation. Analyzing one of the most important Chinese paintings by the Zen monk Mu Qi
-
A simple picture and yet a treasure – ZHA Shibiao
Small album sheet by the artist Zha Shibiao that looks very simple at first glance and only shows its charm and mastery when we take some time for a closer look and reflection.
-
The Essence of Chinese Painting (III)
In “The Essence of Chinese Painting (III),” the focus is on the four phases that define the structure in Chinese painting, as elucidated by the renowned artist and theorist Pan Tianshou.
-
analyzing a simple painting by Qi Baishi 齐白石
The Essence of Chinese Painting Part 2. Analyzing a the painting Chinese cabbage and peppers by Qi Baishi 齐白石
-
out of the dark
A few years after the end of the Cultural Revolution, when I had the chance to live and study in China, I painted this picture: “Out of the dark”.
-
The Principle of the Balance in Chinese Painting
The Essence of Chinese Painting Part 1. The principle of the balance in chinese painting.
-
chinese seal carving
The Essence of Chinese Painting Part 4. Chinese seal carving.