Wang Jiqian (C. C. Wang) 1907-2003

Collection of Dr. W Ray Snider.

Wang Jiqian (known as C. C. Wang), was one of the most celebrated collectors and connoisseurs of Chinese art, and was also an experimental artist.  Born in 1907 in Suzhou, he studied calligraphy and painting from a young age, and became well known in China for his connoisseurship of Chinese classical paintings.  He moved to New York in 1949, and brought with him a substantial collection of classical paintings, and over the years the collection grew substantially.  His early training and knowledge of traditional art, in addition to the influence of Western Abstract Expressionism, led him to create a unique calligraphic style. 

"Within my abstract works, which merged calligraphy and painting, I search for new interactions where the hand and mind can unite in harmony."
C. C. Wang, 1999

"This text is meant to be unreadable. It is interesting that C.C was inventing 'fake' characters completely independently of Xu Bing and Gu Wenda, and in a very different way. I'm not sure who did it first, but C.C's emphasis was on the quality of the line, independent of the linguistic meaning of the characters. He was trying to retain the essence of calligraphy even though there was no text to read."
Arnold Chang, 2015