Guan Weibang(Koon Waibong)(b.1974) Sauntering ink on silk, triptych executed in 2011 total: 213 x 137.4cm (83 7/8 x 54 1/8 in) EXHIBITED Koon Wai Bong- Picturing Mountains and Streams Solo Exhibition, Grotto Fine Art, Hong Kong, September 2011 LITERATURE p.8-10, In the Midst of Koon Wai Bong- Picturing Mountains and Streams, Grotto Fine Art Ltd, Hong Kong, 2011
Guan Weibang has a fondness for the aesthetics of Chinese ink paintings. During his studies at the university, he was mentored by Chow Su-Sing of Wu Painting School. He developed a keen interest in exploring and cultivating the expression and aesthetics in Chinese ink paintings. He specializes in brushes and single colour landscape paintings. His meticulous brushstroke is ethereal, yet sophisticated and graceful. Combining the concept of formation, composition and media in contemporary art, he reflects these on the space of his works, marking a distinguished artistic feature to Guan.
This triptych of landscape painting basically renders the space by adapting the concept of foreground and background. Guan purposely omitted and misplaced the connecting sections, enlarging or pushing further parts of the landscape to misplace the time, space and distance. It creates an imagination and extending effect of visual in breakage and continuance. He infused some interesting element to traditional aesthetics. Through the traditional media of silk and ink, Guan presented a beautiful landscape with plenty of fine dots. The airy-like emptiness is deliberately decorated with elegant stamps, adequately putting some weight on the light vision. This triptych is poetic and refined. The trees are thin but strong, and the lush of the density is represented by plenty of fine dots. The rocks also comprises of intense fine dots, showing the geographical features of the southern region. There are cottage, fences, and boats hidden in the bamboo forest, detailed but not complicated. Resembling the simple state of mind of Dong Yuan in the Five Dynasties, the use of ink is light but sophisticated and graceful, allowing people to detach from reality.