PRINTCatalogue Note:
As an active overseas Chinese artist in America in the 20th century, George Chann is famous for his fine abstract paintings expressive of cultural reflections. This piece, “Abstraction Series 537”, was created by Chann in 1970 and features a strong use of black, grey, and white as the main motif. Chann’s seemingly colorless painting reveals the beauty of calligraphy rubbings and the flamboyant mixture of the old and new.
Chann’s works at his early stage were mostly on social realism, demonstrating the compassionate humanitarianism and concerns for immigrants of African, Asian, and Mexican ancestry, reflecting his own background as someone who immigrated to America with his family as a young teen. From 1947 to 1950, Chann visited China and immersed himself in traditional Chinese calligraphy and paintings. After returning to America in 1950, he developed his unique abstract expressionism on the basis of Chinese calligraphy. If figurative art is the representation of the real life, abstract art to Chann is the long-term fusion and pursuit of the essences of the eastern civilization and the western culture. Created in 1970, “Abstraction Series 537” is a classic piece by Chann’s that reflects his late-stage work. At this stage, Chinese characters were not written, but the writing of Chinese characters became the arrangement of sheer background, forming abstract musicality. Black forms the main tone of the background, along with drips of red and yellow, while transparent white lines stretch across in a way that resembles an on-again off-again everlasting melody playing freely on the canvas. The arrangement of the color black and white of this piece up for auction not only reveals Chann’s inspiration from stone rubbings in his early stage, but also shows that he was capable of freely experimenting with different abstract possibilities in his late period as a stretch of his sudden burst of vitality. The arrangement of fullness and the emptiness in this painting reveals unlimited possibility, a eulogy of civilization, and a pursuit of the artist’s identity that splendidly expresses Chann’s unique aesthetics.
Chann’s works at his early stage were mostly on social realism, demonstrating the compassionate humanitarianism and concerns for immigrants of African, Asian, and Mexican ancestry, reflecting his own background as someone who immigrated to America with his family as a young teen. From 1947 to 1950, Chann visited China and immersed himself in traditional Chinese calligraphy and paintings. After returning to America in 1950, he developed his unique abstract expressionism on the basis of Chinese calligraphy. If figurative art is the representation of the real life, abstract art to Chann is the long-term fusion and pursuit of the essences of the eastern civilization and the western culture. Created in 1970, “Abstraction Series 537” is a classic piece by Chann’s that reflects his late-stage work. At this stage, Chinese characters were not written, but the writing of Chinese characters became the arrangement of sheer background, forming abstract musicality. Black forms the main tone of the background, along with drips of red and yellow, while transparent white lines stretch across in a way that resembles an on-again off-again everlasting melody playing freely on the canvas. The arrangement of the color black and white of this piece up for auction not only reveals Chann’s inspiration from stone rubbings in his early stage, but also shows that he was capable of freely experimenting with different abstract possibilities in his late period as a stretch of his sudden burst of vitality. The arrangement of fullness and the emptiness in this painting reveals unlimited possibility, a eulogy of civilization, and a pursuit of the artist’s identity that splendidly expresses Chann’s unique aesthetics.