PROVENANCE:
Kaikodo Asian Art, New York

EXHIBITED:
A Modern Odyssey: New Works by Yu Peng , Kaikodo Asian Art, New York, May 16- June 6, 1998

ILLUSTRATED:
Kaikodo Journal VIII , Kaikodo Asian Art, New York, May 1998
This work is provided with a wooden box

A Thousand waterfalls admist Bizarre Cliffs, was displayed at Kaikodo Asian Art in New York in 1998. The abundance and compactness of its composition cause the landscape to exude a sense of great agitation as figures and old trees weave throughout the whole work. Outlined with simple strokes, nude men and women of all ages sit and stand with various expressions. The whole presentation conveys a sort of simple but eccentric atmosphere that seems to hide countless mysterious legendary tales. One principle of Chinese gardening, "paving the path with the landscape and obtaining the landscape through the path", emphasizes mutual interpretation between the landscape and the path. Yu's innovative layout triggers curiosity in the viewer to explore the relationship between the characters and nature.

In terms of the artistic technique, Yu uses light purple, cinnabar red and light yellow, a rare color combination in traditional Chinese ink wash, to build a mellow dreamland with a faint touch of night. Its short and overlapping strokes bring about the elements of crudeness. Between the dry and wet brush strokes, the artist ingeniously arranges the gradation of ink, adding rhythms to this work.

The silhouette-like figures in the painting express a kind of undeniable clumsiness in action, which likely originates from Yu's admiration for shadow plays. Since he was young, Yu has had a keen interest in mud sculpture and traditional shadow plays, which have become his two major sources of inspiration. Instead of falling into academic restrictions, most of his works manifest the artist's truthful encounter with nature and the material world. Without a doubt, Yu's poetic imagination and Confucian humanistic thoughts fully unfold through this painting.