Green Mountains

Colored washes evoke the idyllic blue-and-green landscapes of classical Chinese painting with a luminous clarity, yet the hue is untraditional. The varied tones of green give the work a more Western watercolor style, but the brushwork is unmistakably Chinese. An artist without formal training in painting and calligraphy, Xia Yifu developed an individual technique that could capture the monumentality of traditional landscapes. Chu-tsing Li said of Xia’s work: “We can see a reflection of the artist’s own inner nature, as well as the embodiment of the intricacies of nature, the desire for transcendence and release from mortal life, and a realm in which everything, including one’s self, is forgotten.”