C.C. Wang - Lines of Abstraction

C.C. Wang (19072003) is best known as a preeminent twentieth-century connoisseur and collector of pre-modern Chinese art, a reputation that often overshadows his own art. The book recenters Wangs extraordinary career on his own artistic practice to reveal an original quest for tradition and innovation in the global twentieth century. Born to a family of scholar-officials at the twilight of the Qing dynasty, C.C. Wang mastered the traditional ink and brush techniques in Republican Shanghai and immigrated to New York City in 1949. There he sought to preserve the tradition of classical Chinese painting through engagement with new ideas, materials, and forms. Drawing inspiration from past masters in the history of Chinese painting, as well as New Yorks artistic climate in the wake of World War II, Wang advanced breakthrough transformations in ink painting. Spanning seven decades, the book focuses on the artists distinctive synthesis of Chinese ink painting and American postwar abstraction.