Since the beginning of the 1980s,the changes within the Chinese contemporary art world have been astonishing indeed,

The relaxation of official cultural policies concerning what artists can and cannot do has resulted in an explosion of aking art

in every conceivable form,from the simple figurative to the most experimental abstraction to powerful installation,video,and

performance art.Amidst all the changes and the rush to secure reputation on the international art stage it seemed,at times,

that traditional ink painting,and all that it has stood for in China's long cultural history,would forever be swept ide.This,

however,has not been the case.

　　　While Chinese artists working with Western media and forms have radically altered cultural norms,traditional ink painting,

too,underwent extraordinary changes throughout the 20th century in the face of political and social transitions.Indeed,many

prominent intellectuals in the early 20th century,including Chen Duxiu,Hu Shi,and Cai Yuanpei,were highly critical of literati

painting since they viewed it as having little relevance to reality.But in painting is not one single staid and stagnant form with no

place in contemporary life as many people might believe.The form includes guohua(national painting),literati painting,new

literati painting,conceptual in painting,and many other variations.Throughout history it has been used for a wide variety of

purposes,from the glorification of Imperial figures to the portrayal of China's socialist vision after 1949.Today ,however,one is

just as likely to see ink painting in a museum exhibition as one is to see it in an avant-garde installation work,such as its new

influence with the contemporary art world.

　　In recent years,the level of experimentation among China's male and female ink painters has been lively indeed resulting

in a range of work equals in power and sophistication to that produced by artists working in Western media.This can be seen

in the works of the ink painters from across China such as Wei Qingji,Tien Chuchang,Pan Ying,Liu Zijian,Wang Fei,and Sun

Guangyi,who,from the late 1990s,have developed styles of realism and abstraction that are forceful and modern.Such artists

and their painting,and the various new movements of ink painters,have helped greatly to further the discourse on modernity

versus the traditional in China's fluid contemporary art world.Their views have not only been confined to China,but have also

been influential in the broader arena of in painting wherever it is practiced.

　　Sun Guangyi,38,is an artist who has given himself over fully to the art of in painting in a manner that encapsulates his

practice of Tibetan Buddhism.Sun's earlier energetic oil and acrylic paintings,such as Meili Snow Mountain 5 and 8 (both

2004),highlighted Sun's attraction to the natural world,one of majesty and power.In his ink-on-paper works,Delight of Heaven

2,3,and 6,and Passion(2003),for example,one is aware of Sun's desire to experiment with the abstract forms to be found in

nature.The works that make up his recent series.Blessings-Voyage to Shangrila(2005),however,are more inward looking.

They are also much more contemplative and minimalist than ever before.They are ,in essence,a continuation of his earlier

series Fragments of Culture(2001) that depicts "oracle and ancient Chinese symbols…an interpretation and reflection of

Chinese traditional culture."The connections between one series and another may seem tenuous the connections reflect

Sun's growing understanding of the relationship between the earthly world in which he is rooted and the spiritual world which

he seeks within himself through his pratice of Tibetan Buddhism.

　　A first glance at Sun's new works reminds one of wall paintings found in ancient Buddhist temples.Or one might see

them as fragments of much large works since Sun,by painting to the very edge suggest some world beyond the edges of

the paper.Untitled 13 and Untitled 15,both pieced in which the faint face appears to be moving towards the edge of the

paper,are good examples of this suggestion of a world beyond.

　　Although the immediate impression of the works surfaces is one of a minimal application of light gray wash that

suggests complete flatness,a closer look reveals that Sun has worked a great deal of detail into the surface.Lines twist

and turn forming surprising images,and the unevenness of the gray background suggests that the surfaces on which the

faces of the Buddha appear are crumbling.This feeling is particularly strong in Untitled 4 and Untitled 16.

　　The simplicity of Sun's line through which he achieves a fine sense of volume and depth to the faces of the Buddha

is one of the most attractive aspects of the works in this series.Another is his subtle use of color on the lips and the faces,

which adds both a subtle perspective and a humanizing aspect to the ethereal nature of the Buddha.In Untitled 2 the

one-eyed head is tilted,the features though soft suggest a certain sternness,which is also true of the faces in Untitled 5

and Untitled 7.

　　The character of the Buddha that Sun has realized in his works comes across not as some ephemeral being but as

one that is surprisingly human.This has been achieved by Sun through a subtle hint of humor.He is in essence telling us

that the spiritual world that he is looking at as represented by his faces of the Buddha is also a human one.Spirituality and

humanity are uniquely brought together in these works and this relationship is refreshing indeed.

　　It is no accident that Sun has chosen not to title his paintings in the series.To have given each work a specific title

would have removed from the viewer the challenge of fully interpreting the work on their own.The series title itself speaks

volumes about the artist's own feelings.