Fung sees calligraphy as a spatial-temporal continuum demarcated by the beginning of the first stroke of the first word and the last stroke of the last word. This temporal-spatial construct of calligraphy finds its visual expression in the written characters as well as in the space between the lines. Based on this re-conceptualization of calligraphic space, Fung has invented more than one hundred scripts, all featuring distinct techniques and styles.

In his Section Script, Fung Ming Chip has first written down the characters in light ink, after which he has painted one end of the xuan paper black. The white ground of this piece is both the background for calligraphy as well as part of an abstract composition. Fung painted the top part of this piece while the ink of the written characters was still wet. The painted ink was only partially absorbed in places where the water of the written characters had saturated the paper. When the ink dried up, the characters came to appear as if they were floating atop a dark background. This contrasts with the white space below, where the characters written in light ink hover between emergence and disappearance.

At the center of the work, Fung Ming Chip has positioned a red seal that indicates the name of his studio. Seals are common in Chinese art; they usually appear at the periphery of artworks as a way to mark artists’ or owners’ names. Unlike in traditional practice, Fung often includes a seal as an integral—even central—part of the whole composition. The red color and triangular shape of the seal stand out from the subdued background. The white ground wavers between relief-like calligraphic space, as part of an abstract painting as well as serving as the background for the red triangular shape.

Curated by Fu Qiumeng Fine Art