Exhibition
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《Ink Reborn》 — 7 Narratives of Contemporary Chinese Ink
Los Angeles • Manhattan Beach
2026.7.11-9.5
Bluerider ART
Curatorial Statement
Ink, as one of the foremost visual vehicles of Eastern aesthetics, rests on a twofold foundation. The first is a material system of brush, ink, paper, and water—the aesthetics of “ink in five tones.” The second is a philosophical spirit centered on “Chi-rythm, life-movement” and “knowing the black, keeping the white,” which, through the interplay of void and substance, constructs a spiritual space one can wander and dwell within. In contrast to the Western tradition of representation that, since the Renaissance, has been governed by linear perspective and chiaroscuro, ink developed a spatial vision of multiple viewpoints and the “three distances”. The irreversible, permeating nature of its materials demands an exceptional command of the fleeting “force of the brush” and “breath” of the moment. From the maturation of the Song landscape system and the parallel development of academy and literati painting, to the heightened emphasis on calligraphic gesture and subjective spirit in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasty, ink gradually turned from the representation of nature toward the expression of the inner mind.
Since the turn of the twentieth century, propelled by globalization and cross-medium experimentation, ink has shifted from the transmission of brush-and-ink lineage toward a rethinking of material itself and of cultural identity, seeking new narrative structures in the space between continuity and transformation.
Ink Reborn turns on a single character: Reborn , to generate, to live. The Book of Changes declares, “Ceaseless generation is what we call Change” life giving rise to life, unbroken and unending. This is the most ancient of Eastern understandings of the cosmos: the great virtue of heaven and earth is generation; the ten thousand things are not created objects but a current of perpetual becoming. For ink, reborn is at once the vital impulse that Xie He’s “Chi rythm, life-movement” pursues, and the fresh germination of ink in contemporary soil. It points not to continuation but to rebirth—ink crossing oceans, generations, and borders, generating anew at the threshold where history meets the present. Because it never ceases, it can be made new.
Seven emerging Chinese ink artists open a dialogue between historical context and contemporary experience, revealing the manifold possibilities of ink today:
Dai Junpeng carries forward the dialectic of void and substance in landscape painting, responding to contemporary modes of looking through the “empty” and the “untrammeled.”Dai Yinglun, with a flatly dispersed, point-perspective structure of group figures, depicts the fluid relationship between the individual and the collective. Eunice Cheung Wai Man renders anthropomorphized animal figures in meticulous gongbi, fusing a hyperrealist vocabulary with an ethics of life. Li Liangchen uses blue-green landscape as a filter, combining collaged texts of everyday current affairs with fragments of symbols to reconstruct classical and modern narratives. Tseng Tingyu proposes “ink that has left ink painting,” deconstructing the very way brush and ink are seen as he explores his connection to himself and to the land. Wu Huaheng, through experiments with black, ink, and paper, reconstructs the historical traces of Eastern alms-bowl imagery. Ying Yefu merges gongbi line-drawing with single-line, flat-fill figuration, conjuring a dramatic tension between nostalgia and the surreal.
Together, these artists prove that at the meeting point of historical depth and contemporary consciousness, Chinese ink remains an aesthetic narrative—and a spiritual emblem—still in the act of being born.
Participatipating artists:
Dai Junpeng
Dai Yinglun
Eunice CHEUNG Wai Man
Li Liangchen
Tseng Ting Yu
Wu Huaheng
Ying Yefu
Exhibition Information
《Ink Reborn》 — 7 Narratives of Contemporary Chinese Ink
Exhibition dates : July 11 – September 5, 2026
Press Preview :
July 11, 2026, 2:30–6:00 PM
Opening Reception :
July 11, 2026, 3:00–6:00 PM (Opening ceremony at 3:30 PM, open to the public)
Bluerider ART LA·Manhattan Beach
1030 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Open：Tue.-Sat. 10am – 6:30pm
E: info.usa@blueriderart.com
T: 424-2826288
Artist
Dai Junpeng
（China, b.1996）
Dai Junpeng received his Master of Arts degree from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Currently lives and works in Guangzhou, where he also teaches at Guangzhou College. His practice moves fluidly between a contemporary sensibility and the discipline of traditional ink painting, exploring how the concepts of xu (emptiness/void) and yi (ease, transcendence) may embody the humanistic spirit of landscape imagery. Within his work, a dynamic equilibrium is sought between human subjectivity and the objective presence of nature. His works presented in Taipei, London and Los Angeles, awarded the Outstanding Graduate Prize from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.
More information
Dai Yinglun
(China, b.1987）
Dai Yinglun received Master degree in Chinese Painting from the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, currently lives and works in Shanghai. Deeply influenced by Zen, Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, he has developed a distinctive visual language characterised by dispersed, flattened compositions depicting the myriad conditions of human existence. Moving beyond binary oppositions, his work presents a dual perspective on the collective and the individual. His practice has garnered significant attention for its vitality and originality. Dai’s works have been exhibited and collected at institutions including the Shanghai Meibo Art Museum, Xi’an Contemporary Art Museum. Awarded the Gold Prize at the Shanghai Annual Youth Ink Exhibition, and the Artand Annual Award for Most Noteworthy Artist.
Eunice Cheung Wai Man
( Hong Kong, b.1986 )
Eunice CHEUNG Wai Man received her Master of Fine Arts degree from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, specialising in meticulous (gongbi) animal painting, and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in National Taiwan Normal University. She is recognised as one of the representative figures of “New Gongbi” painting. Cheung is known for her refined brushwork and hyperreal aesthetic, often depicting anthropomorphised animals with extraordinary precision. Her practice foregrounds themes of animal protection and respect for all living beings. She held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in international exhibitions, including the National Palace Museum in Taiwan and the Basilica of Santa Croce in Italy. In 2009, she received the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Awards.
Li Liangchen
（China, b. 1997）
Li Liangchen received his B.A. in Art History and Theory from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Master’s degree in Fine Arts and Calligraphy from the Chinese National Academy of Arts, where he is currently pursuing a doctoral degree. His work integrates classical material language with contemporary imagery, employing the blue-green (qinglü) landscape tradition as a visual “filter.” Through textual collage and fragmented symbols, he creates multilayered pictorial spaces that invite immersive viewing—spaces that may be metaphorically “inhabited” and “traversed.” Exhibited included the National Art Museum of China, Today Art Museum, and the Hangzhou Triennial of Chinese Painting. He has been awarded the First Prize for Outstanding Work in the National Art Exhibition and permanent collections by the China Artists Association, the Modern Gongbi Painting Academy, and Tree Art Museum in Beijing.
Tseng Ting Yu
（Taiwan, b. 1983）
Tseng Ting Yu received his Ph.D. from the Graduate Institute of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University, where he currently teaches in the Department of Fine Arts. His research and practice centre on what he terms “ink beyond ink painting,” deconstructing the ways in which brush, ink, paper, and inkstone are conventionally perceived, while exploring the interrelationship between selfhood, ink, and land. He was awarded an Honorable Mention at the Second CTBC Contemporary Painting Prize. His works exhibited at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Japan and the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, and in collections including CTBC and the Zhongshan Youth Art Award Collection.
Wu Huaheng
( China, b.1988 )
Wu Huaheng received BA from the Academy of Fine Arts at Hunan Normal University and currently lives and works in Beijing. His practice embodies both Zen sensibility and a contemporary experimental spirit. Moving beyond the conventional constraints of brush-and-ink orthodoxy, Wu delves into the intrinsic material properties of ink and paper. Through the stark contrast between “ultimate black” and “hard-edge white,” he constructs a distinctive visual language that challenges the traditional boundaries of ink painting. Exhibited in the Qingdao Annual Art Documentation Exhibition, the Croatia Art Fair, and Ink Asia Hong Kong.
Ying Yefu
( China, b.1985 )
Ying Yefu graduated from the China Academy of Art with a degree in Visual Communication Design and currently lives and works in Xianyang, Shaanxi. Committed to breaking conventions, he builds a bridge between nostalgia and surrealism, applying the traditional gongbi outline technique (baimiao)—inflected with a slightly raw, single-line flat-colour approach—to contemporary figure painting. The result is imagery that appears uncanny yet charged with dramatic tension. His works have been exhibited at MoCA Shanghai, in San Francisco and Singapore.
