John Way studied art in China before moving to Boston in 1956, where he encountered the work of Franz Kline. Impressed by the power and audacity Kline’s compositions, Way began to reference the bold and dark calligraphic gestures in his own work. Way’s works in the 1950s and early 1960s are characterized by the use of intense color layered on top of one another.

The work presented here is reminiscent of this very period in which the artist found the essence of his style at the crossroads of east and west. Since the early 1960s, traditional Chinese painting techniques became more apparent in Way’s works as he began manipulating his brush over canvas like an ink painting. In this work, the brushstrokes move forcefully against the visually warm background, capturing both vitality and tranquility. By controlling the length, thickness and intensity of these lines, Way presents a kind of rhythm and aesthetic often seen in Chinese calligraphy. Executed in the manner of cursive script, these lines remind one of Chinese characters despite their lack of any literal meaning, conveying a visual effect of freshness and simplicity.