THANK GOODNESS FOR NEW DISCOVERIES...
I was feeling dissatisfied. It’s probably the time of the year but even if there were a lot of exhibitions that I wanted to see, I felt as if I was turning around in circles. Nothing really new coming in. After the exhibition on Schoenberg, I contemplated going to Strasbourg to see a retrospective of Kandinsky…but why? Of course I would see paintings that I don’t know, but I have been following Kandinsky for years now - would I learn anything new? Then a friend who is as keen on modern art as I am suggested Walasse Ting at the Cernuschi museum. A few weeks later I saw pictures of his work in one of my subscription magazines and decided to go.
Well - but I had better go and see to satisfy my curiosity...
A little about him:
He began studying art in China. In 1953, then moved to Paris, where he continued exploring figurative art in ink. His expressive works are similar to those produced by the CoBrA movement and by artists like Pierre Alechinsky and Asger Jorn. However, I don’t know another artist who actually « painted with artists, especially as he did with Alechinsky. Now this WAS really new!
Walasse Ting connected with many avant-garde movements across the globe, and - over the last few years has become very popular in Asia. Frankly I doubt if he is widely known in Europe. There were more than 80 paintings and as usual there were a lot I loved and a lot I did not like at all.
It is a unique collection (donated by Ting himself to the museum). His women are flowers, colorful and sometimes extremely erotic. His paintings in black and white of naked women in very sexual poses, did not interest me at all. In fact, I found them vulgar…but there others which could have belonged to the Fauve period which I liked - up to a point.
I gather Ting was rather obsessive sexually at one period. There are so many painting of the erotica and as I said, many of them were vulgar in my book. But what you see here does have some poetic licence. The umbrella has a definite symbol of where lovers could shelter - and carry on -
The break way from his women and some of his earlier work was in fact, quite startling. There were a few paintings virtually only in black, but the meteor below was the only one I liked because it seemed breathe and even looked like a head and neck lying down...I could take that.
The titles of these paintings - in English - don't really seem to fit or perhaps more so with the painting in red...
What impressed me most of all, were the « shared paintings » with Pierre Alechinsky. It was in 1961 and 62, that Alechinsky invited Ting to work on paintings with their « four hands » . Apparently at the beginning they worked side by side and then they started what they called « the jam-session-painting » where their work was much more spontaneous - and joined their names too, « ALECHING »
There were other artists he worked with in the CoBrA group - and there you can see that this made a dialogue and a new artistic expression. Fabulous.
There was one painting done by Asger Jorn and Alechinsky which was found about a year after Jorn had died. Ting was passing through Paris at the time and P.A. asked him to add something to the painting…it took a long time to accept the work but when they did, it was called « Jorn’s Grave ? »
There were works on paper too that I liked because of their different expression...
not to mention his animals, but especially this cat…I can hear him purring…
This is another painting with animals
Walking into one gallery, you were faced with this - "The Flower Women" - impressive! Womens' heads but with snakes for their bodies...apparently this is just the centre panel.
Also, these wooden sculptures that looked very much like Aborigine « tools » that I have at home…
My goodness, two hours had flown by but before I left, I back-tracked as I wanted to see the first picture opening the exhibition. When I walked in and saw this, my immediate reaction was « this is too Asiatic for me » but when I came back to it, it took on quite another context. It was done in 1952. The horses, the letters, and the tank seem to materialize out of nothing and then the painting became very modern.
Well - but I had better go and see to satisfy my curiosity...
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| The poster for the exhibition |
A little about him:
His real name was Ding Xiongquan, and he was born in 1928. Later he chose the pseudonym Walasse Ting and the nickname, "The Flower Thief". In my book, he is an unclassifiable artist, who was active in Paris, New York and Amsterdam. Also collaborated with a number of artists, whose perspectives enriched his work by combining Chinese art with modern Western art. This was the introduction to his work...a shorter version of it anyway!
He began studying art in China. In 1953, then moved to Paris, where he continued exploring figurative art in ink. His expressive works are similar to those produced by the CoBrA movement and by artists like Pierre Alechinsky and Asger Jorn. However, I don’t know another artist who actually « painted with artists, especially as he did with Alechinsky. Now this WAS really new!
 |
| Pierre Alechinsky and Walasse Ting " Thats swarms' 1962 |
Walasse Ting connected with many avant-garde movements across the globe, and - over the last few years has become very popular in Asia. Frankly I doubt if he is widely known in Europe. There were more than 80 paintings and as usual there were a lot I loved and a lot I did not like at all.
It is a unique collection (donated by Ting himself to the museum). His women are flowers, colorful and sometimes extremely erotic. His paintings in black and white of naked women in very sexual poses, did not interest me at all. In fact, I found them vulgar…but there others which could have belonged to the Fauve period which I liked - up to a point.
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| Love me Love me series - 9 and 10: 1975 |
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| 1957 : no title |
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| Raindrops on my Eyes - 1974 |
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| Women with fans - 1975-80 |
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| Outside Snow White - 1995 |
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| Spring Morning - in the 90's |
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| No title - in the 80's |
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| Small formats done in the 80's and 90's |
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| Beauté - 970 |
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| Women and Servants 1975-80 |
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| The Birth of Venus - 1966 |
The break way from his women and some of his earlier work was in fact, quite startling. There were a few paintings virtually only in black, but the meteor below was the only one I liked because it seemed breathe and even looked like a head and neck lying down...I could take that.
 |
| White Spider and White Snack - 1957 |
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| A Meteor - 1959 |
The titles of these paintings - in English - don't really seem to fit or perhaps more so with the painting in red...
 |
| I take off my pants facing sunset - 1969 |
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| I going to take bath - 1969 (title as is in English) |
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| Woman with fan - 1975-80 |
What impressed me most of all, were the « shared paintings » with Pierre Alechinsky. It was in 1961 and 62, that Alechinsky invited Ting to work on paintings with their « four hands » . Apparently at the beginning they worked side by side and then they started what they called « the jam-session-painting » where their work was much more spontaneous - and joined their names too, « ALECHING »
 |
| Pierre Alechinsky & Walasse Ting, "57 crickets and a dragon fly under a blue window" 1968 |
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| Pierre Alechinsky & Walasse Ting, "Great Chinese" 1961 |
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| Pierre Alechinsky & Walasse Ting, " Where are you? - 1962 |
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| Pierre Alechinsky & Walasse Ting, "Who What, Where" 1962 |
There were other artists he worked with in the CoBrA group - and there you can see that this made a dialogue and a new artistic expression. Fabulous.
There was one painting done by Asger Jorn and Alechinsky which was found about a year after Jorn had died. Ting was passing through Paris at the time and P.A. asked him to add something to the painting…it took a long time to accept the work but when they did, it was called « Jorn’s Grave ? »
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| Jorn's Grave ? 1970-1993: Alechinsky & Jorn and then the two grasshopper by Ting |
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| Butterflies -1970 |
There were works on paper too that I liked because of their different expression...
 |
| Excurison in a boat - 1970 |
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| Poppies - 1970 |
not to mention his animals, but especially this cat…I can hear him purring…
This is another painting with animals
 |
| Woman with a Parrot - 1980 |
Walking into one gallery, you were faced with this - "The Flower Women" - impressive! Womens' heads but with snakes for their bodies...apparently this is just the centre panel.
Also, these wooden sculptures that looked very much like Aborigine « tools » that I have at home…
 |
| Coffin for Walasse Ting and Ancestral Tablets - 1960's |
My goodness, two hours had flown by but before I left, I back-tracked as I wanted to see the first picture opening the exhibition. When I walked in and saw this, my immediate reaction was « this is too Asiatic for me » but when I came back to it, it took on quite another context. It was done in 1952. The horses, the letters, and the tank seem to materialize out of nothing and then the painting became very modern.
 |
| Fight with big sword - 1952 |
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