TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The founder of Hong Kong-based Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery, Catherine Kwai (季玉年), said the work of female artist Xie Jinglan (謝景蘭) has become popular because of her ability to capture the essence of her mind-state.
Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery is known for specializing in 20th-century contemporary art and participated in Taipei Dangdai for the first time. It showcased works by Xie, Li Huayi (李華弌), Oswaldo Vigas, and other emerging artists.
Kwai said Taiwanese collectors showed good taste by appreciating her artists' skills. She said it was important for artists to reflect their inner spirit, as opposed to focusing on market trends or sensationalism.
At Taipei Dangdai, the gallery presented French-Chinese artist Xie's small-scale abstract paintings, which won the spotlight. Kwai recalled that she curated Xie's retrospective exhibition in 2010 at Taipei's National Museum of History when no one knew the artist. Twenty years later, at the art fair, visitors rushed to view her works.
Xie was famous for being the wife of acclaimed artist Zao Wouki (趙無極). However, she began to publish her own works after they got divorced in 1957.
The value of Xie's works has skyrocketed recently. Her work was first auctioned by Sotheby's in 2008, which sold for HK$600,000 (NT$2.36 million). In 2019, a painting went under the hammer and was valued 10 times higher.
Her abstract paintings draw inspiration from music, dance, and Eastern philosophy. Kwai said she admired Xie's ability to capture the essence of her mind-state in her paintings.
Although Xie had no formal training in painting, her interactions with renowned artist friends – including Lin Fengmian (林風眠) Wu Dayu (吳大羽), and her ex-husband Zao – helped her to cultivate a unique style, according to Kwai.
"Her use of flowing lines, feminine sensibility, and subtle elegance distinguishes her works from male artists."
Xie Jinglan's (謝景蘭) painting and Bai Ming's (白明) China are on display at Taipei Dangdai, presented by Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery. (Facebook, Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery photo)
