FOREWORD
The Sumi-E Painting and Global Cultural Exchange
By Yueh-mei Cheng
President, The Federation of American Asian Culture and Art, Main Branch
Associate Professor, International School of Art and Design, Finlandia
University, U.S.A.
Visiting Faculty, The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, U.S.A.
Originally rooted in Asian culture, sumi-e (water & ink) brush painting
has been taught and practiced worldwide today. Artists, with their imagination
and enthusiasm, create the art in all manners with new forms. For a sumi-e
brush-work artist, knowing the tradition is a vehicle to be creative. The
eternal light within the brush stroke is flo¬wing out from within. The
heart is the studio, the soul is the artist. The spirit of the art can be
seen as alive in nature and one's fundamental underpinnings. Art work is thus
the result of both poetic feelings and existential intelligence.
The brush stroke has special strength in shading, layering, splashing, and coloring with feelings. The texture modeling with the space recreates lively images of nature and sublimation of an idea. It is the artist's response to reality and is also the artist's inner world. It's both realistic and expressive. The brush stroke from the artist's inner mood creates the aesthetic approach and philosophic sensibility.
Art is an activity that human can be enriched in creating its culture and
history. The past in a certain sense cultures a living tradition that the
future can follow in order to create. Art and artists will grow through the
medium of this change. The changing of art includes the exploration of the
origins and works within such practices. Our annual International Sumi-E Brush
Painting Contest and Exhibition represents the collective effort and accomplishment
from dedicated artists worldwide, it contributes to the new trend of global
cultural exchange. Different paintings selected here give the spectators a
sense of poetry. It is a way of seeing. Congratulations!
Introduction
US Division Awardees
Membership Application
Publication
Publication