Cui Fei: Vermicular Calligraphy; Chiang Yomei: Moon on the Water

Born in Jinan, Cui Fei studied at both the China Academy of Fine Arts and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she received her MFA. Based in New York since 1996, she has exhibited extensively across the globe, and is best known for her artworks that use natural materials such as thorns, vines and seeds

 

Vermicular Calligraphy will debut a new body of work by the artist, one that she has been developing for several years. According to the artist,

“This series is a further exploration of the asemic writing found in nature. While out collecting plant materials, I was intrigued by the markings carved by beetles on tree trunks and how much some of these patterns resemble Chinese calligraphy. Through my research, I discovered that bark beetles have long been part of the ecosystem. They attack weak or sick trees to make room for new growth. Unfortunately, climate change has turned this natural process into a man-made disaster.”

 

The discovery led to a new body of work by Cui, in which she uses ink rubbings to capture the patterns carved by the bark beetles, and later transfers them into lead sculptures that she calls ‘Sheaths’. This exhibition focuses on the ink rubbings, the first part of her process, which has resulted in paper relief artworks. The paper rubbings take on a three-dimensional form – in essence, they are delicate molds of the tree trunks where bark beetles left their natural markings. Mimicking the path of the beetles, Cui has also created an installation for the exhibition, with fragments of ‘bark’ that horizontally traverse one wall of the gallery. As always, she brings the natural world into dialogue with human culture. Language and writing—symbols imbued with meaning—form the basis of human society, and Cui finds parallels to writing systems throughout the natural world.” (?) Through her work, she reminds us of the delicate balance between humans and nature.

 

“Through the ink rubbings, I trace "writing" back to its origin—nature, emphasizing its importance to our civilization. These works serve as a metaphor that transformative changes are urgently needed for a sustainable future.” ~ Cui Fei, 2025

 

"So I say this to you~ this is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this fleeting world: Like a drop of dew, or a bubble in a stream; like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream. So is all conditioned existence to be seen. Thus spoke Buddha."  ~The Diamond Sutra

 

Moon on the Water is Chiang Yomei’s first solo exhibition in the US. Born in Taiwan and based in London since 1981, Yomei is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is deeply influenced by the philosophy and psychology behind Buddhist thought. We will feature two ongoing bodies of work by the artist: her "Lotus" and "Waking Dream" series.

 

Yomei’s Waking Dream series centers on a circular moon-like form, repeated and sometimes elongated and fragmented, painted using acrylic on canvas. According to the artist, “Because all compounded phenomena are conditioned and eventually fall apart, nothing has a solid, unchanging existence. So everything is really an illusion: like an image in the mirror, a moon on the water. The moon on the water' is a meditation on impermanence.”

 

The circular form has many meanings in Buddhist thought: it represents non-duality; a constant flow of energy, and is symbolic of the cyclical, creative and infinite nature of the universe and of life. To Yomei, her circles emphasize that phenomena are neither created nor destroyed  (不生不滅). That all things are interdependent and do not have an independent existence, being empty in nature. Her work Unborn and Unceasing embodies this philosophy, with its vibrant, undulating red surface painted using sand, incense ash & oil on canvas.

 

Alongside her works on canvas is a selection of works on paper from her Lotus series. Here, she uses traditional Chinese ink, sea salt, pencil & acrylic. Spontaneity and uncertainty are key elements to her artistic approach; she embraces the idea of chance and impermanence, much like Dadaists did in the mid-20th century, who were also influenced by Buddhist philosophy.

 

In Buddhism, the Lotus symbolises purity, enlightenment and non-attachment. The Lotus plant roots in mud (symbolizing attachment); its bloom above the water represents non-attachment.

 

“The Lotus represents the journey towards enlightenment, from root to bloom, a metaphor for different stages of development. For me, the whole lotus represents the practitioner, the path. The works "Story of the Lotus" and "Dream of the Lotus" express my own process as a practitioner through ink and brush, a meditation on impermanence.” ~ Chiang Yomei, 2025