Verticals and Horizontals: Narratives of Contemporary Chinese Abstraction

“Verticals and Horizontals” refers not only to the spatial dimension, but also to the ascent and descent of the spirit, its immersion and withdrawal. “Curved and straight” describes the rhythm of form, as well as the hesitation and resolve of action. It represents the artist’s visual distillation of complex life experiences within the limited field of the canvas.

This visual condensation of the invisible spirit and a deeper objective world stems from the perspective of non-representational art introduced from the West in the twentieth century. Over the last century, it opened a historical chapter for the practice of abstraction in modern Chinese art. What began as an imitation of external formal languages gradually evolved into a philosophical return, profoundly transforming not only the brushwork of Chinese painting but also reshaping the logic of contemporary Chinese art.

As we see in this exhibition, “Verticals and Horizontals” the visual spaces constructed through overlapping fields of color reveal the narrative veins of contemporary Chinese abstract art. They explore the tension between materiality and metaphysics—both excavating the depth of the earth and gazing upward toward the vastness of the sky. As a fragmentary group exhibition, it serves both as a case study in the collecting of Chinese abstract art and as a snapshot of the past decade, shaped collectively by artists from different generations. From this small vantage point, we are able to glimpse and better understand deeper layers of reality behind the vast landscape of Chinese abstract art.

Thus, as an exhibition of abstract art, what is constructed here are the boundaries of logic, while what flows through them is the resilience of life itself. The sixteen participating artists—Yu Youhan, Wang Chuan, Ma Shuqing, Qu Fengguo, Chen Ruobing, Guan Yinfu, Li Kai, Zheng Jiang, Zhou Siwei, Cai Lei, Ju Ting, Tang Mingwei, Li Muhua, Fu Meijun, Wang Yi, and Zhou Yuan—form a deeper resonance across generations within Chinese abstract art.

The microcosm they create gestures toward a set of coordinates of modernity that invites reflection. Here we encounter both the pioneers of Chinese contemporary art—representing the first generation of Chinese abstraction, who sought answers through collision and synthesis—and a younger generation of artists who came of age in the era of globalization. Together, they outline the evolving trajectory and plural contours of Chinese abstract art.