Many congratulations to the two WSA PGR Alumni who have published articles in the latest issue of Journal of Contemporary Painting (vol. 6 issue 1-2). It is wonderful to see alumni making such a contribution to art criticism. Some details below of both these contributions to scholarship
Feng Jie (2021) âWriting from the other side: Critical reflections on the calligraphy of Zhang Qiangâ Journal of Contemporary Painting, Vol. 6, Issue 1-2, pp. 131-148 [available here].
This article presents the specific case of a contemporary practitioner of Chinese calligraphy, Zhang Qiang, a notable figure within the current Avant-garde movement. After outlining aspects of his practice, which has been controversial along gender grounds, the article turns to his specific project of âbi-directionalâ calligraphy. It is argued this work opens up a more rewarding way into his work as an enquiry into writing, which bears connections with Derridaâs deconstructionist account of writing and trace. However, in a brief exchange at Tate Modern, Zhang offers a form of âwriting lessonâ, which both helps takes us towards the decontructionist account of general writing, yet equally reveals a reliance upon the cultural category of âChinese calligraphyâ, which takes us away againâarguably symptomatic of a wider struggle for Chinese contemporary art to gain recognition in the West.
Cheng-Chu Weng (2021) âMaking minimalism disappearâŠâ  Journal of Contemporary Painting, Vol. 6, Issue 1-2, pp. 149-164 [available here].
âMaking minimalism disappearâŠâ presents an essay regarding my approach to âexpansion paintingâ, and specifically provides a study of another kind of minimalist aesthetic. The account begins with a signature work, Shoji (2015), which is proposed as a way to unfold what expansion painting is. I describe my approach as drawing upon painterly compositional methods but developed through site-specific considerations of architectural spaces, bodies and differing levels of consciousness. The works âtake placeâ when interacting in these layered spaces, or what I refer to as a âsenseâ of painting space. The article goes on to articulate howâin terms of a western discourse â my works might âlookâ minimalist but, in fact, are not minimalist art. This articleâin representing my practice and providing broader critical analysisâleads us to question an ideology of art history around the enigma of minimalist art, and gives rise instead to another shadowy form of minimalist art. Hence, this article can be said to make minimalism disappear in being haunted by it.
You can also see Cheng-Chu’s PhD practice and contributions to WSA’s PhD researcher community featured on this blog here.