Qiu Deshu

painted in 1996
signed with Sky & Earth symbol of the artist at centre left

Plum Blossoms, Hong Kong
Red Rock Studio Collection

Hong Kong and Singapore, Plum Blossoms Gallery, Genesis, Evolution, Sublimation: Qiu Deshu, 1996, pl. no. 55, p. 139 

Overall in very good condition. Framed with acrylic: 87.5 by 144.5 cm.
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As the leader of the 1980 Cao Cao She (Grass Society) exhibition in Shanghai, Qiu Deshu was  one of the earliest pioneers of abstraction and ink art in China, consistently pursuing innovation through unconventional applications of traditional media: ink, seals and xuan paper. A native of Shanghai, Qiu studied Chinese painting, seal carving and scroll mounting since youth, though he began his artistic career as a Red Guard painter during the Cultural Revolution. His early exposure to traditional techniques and the personal tribulations he encountered left a deep impression on his mature work, but in a variety of innovative ways.

The two present lots by Qiu Deshu are rare and important early works that reveal a formative transformation of the artist’s personal style. Dated in 1982, Calligraphic (Lot 845) and Cracks - Elves (Lot 846) both exhibit Qiu’s early pursuit of distinctive fissuring techniques (torn paper collage), joint with his decorative use of seal marks against an ink wash background.   As an accomplished seal carver, seals are integral to the composition of Qiu’s works—as elements of painting and not necessarily as evidence of authorship or ownership. The anthropomorphic forms resemble human portraits caught in a web of dynamic cracks, exuding a metaphorical release of strong energy—emblematic of creativity’s first moments of prosperity, after decades of cultural isolation in China. Qiu’s art simultaneously  acknowledges cultural heritage of the past,  and yet rejects it in his conflicting processes of creation and destruction.  This duality could be attributed to his Buddhist upbringing; whereby Qiu’s fissuring technique represents the  cathartic process of engaging with the concepts of impermanence and transcendence, while his layering methods are reminiscent of Buddhism's emphasis on the emptiness of form.

By the late 1990s, the raw emotions of Qiu’s earlier works had all but subsided, with the exception of his fissures remaining as the essence of his signature artistic language. Fissuring - Genesis - Landscape No.11 (Lot 847) forgoes the traditional ink and brush motifs so as to exhibit the beauty and quality of Chinese xuan paper, recognising its prominence in landscape composition – using parallel cracks to resemble mountains, and torn layers of paper to indicate water and sky. The cool tones of the tranquil scenery reflect a detachment from humdrum life, as advocated by Song dynasty landscapes master Guo Xi, inviting the viewer to a place of uncorrupted nature and pure serenity;  thereby alluding that the scratches on Qiu’s mind and the wounds to his soul are both gradually healing.