Ink Roamings

“Ink Roamings” presents works on paper by the contemporary Chinese artist Jianfeng Pan (*1973) of the past decade, ranging from small album to monumental scroll formats. Born into a family of scholar artists, Pan early on became adept in handling the classical Chinese materials of brush, ink, and paper, later studying under the renowned calligrapher Wang Dongling (*1945). After graduation in Visual Communication at the China Academy of Arts, Hangzhou, Pan over a long period worked in Shanghai as a graphic designer. Since 2016, he has been living in “self-exile” in Finland, where he devotes himself entirely to calligraphic, respectively, ink art.

Pan’s multiversal work is deeply rooted in China’s historical arts of writing and painting as well as shaped by his eclectic visions as a graphic artist. His migration from East Asia to Northern Europe is powerfully reflected in a, literally un-homely, graffiti-esque visual language that unites Daoist philosophical traditions of “Unrestrained Roaming” with motifs borrowed from the Scandinavian natural landscape. With his self-description as a “Social Calligrapher,” Pan shapes his creative practice of Radical Ink, respectively, Mindful Ink: calligraphy as a contemporary medium and endeavor that promotes human communication and spiritual growth across society and cultures. The exhibition opens with a live action-writing performance by the internationally distinguished artist.

SUPPORTED BY