China 2000 Fine Art is pleased to present the Asia Week NY exhibition STRONGER TOGETHER—MELDING CULTURAL IDIOMS in their location at 1556 Third Ave, Suite 601, in Manhattan. The exhibition focuses on the work of two western artists, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg, both of whom created their final projects by re-examining an earlier allure for Chinese artistic expression and translating this affinity into their own unique idioms. The exhibition consists of three very large works, one by Lichtenstein titled Landscape with Poet (1996) and two by Rauschenberg titled Lotus III and Lotus V (from the Lotus Series, 2008). And on the eastern wall, hanging scrolls in Square Word Calligraphy by Xu Bing (b. 1955), whose creative genius is rooted in bringing the world—east and west, rich and poor, young and old—closer together.

“Landscapes in the Chinese Style” was the last complete series of paintings created by Roy Lichtenstein. At the age of 21 while in the army, Lichtenstein discovered his affinity for Chinese art, continued to engage with Asian art as a university student in Ohio and then sporadically throughout his career. But it was an encounter with a 1994 exhibition of splendid landscape monotypes and pastels by Edgar Degas (similar to what was recently on view at the Museum of Modern Art) that really moved him, until his death in 1997, to create this Chinese inspired series of paintings, prints and sculptures. Primarily interested in Sung dynasty landscapes, Lichtenstein sought to incorporate broad ideas about space and atmosphere from ancient Chinese art, and not to appropriate direct imagery, as he had done in his early pop-works of the 1960s. In addition, Lichtenstein played with the idea of abstract painting like the Chinese artists of the past – only the tiniest details on the large canvas suggest to the viewer that the work is Chinese inspired. The small figure on the lower left as well as Lichtenstein’s refined use of varying sized Ben-Day dots define the pictorial space, unlike the artist’s earlier use of bold outlines. The dotting reflects a traditional Chinese painting technique while the incongruous rice picker’s hat on the poet triggers a recognition factor, a visual cliché that serves to underpin the Asian feel of the pictures. This series of work is a stunning example of how the artist subtly infers the cliché, or stereotype, of the Westerner’s generalized view of ancient Chinese art. He finely blends his own past techniques and mechanics of painting and print making with ancient inspiration for a fresh and mature late work.

“The Lotus Series” (2008) is the last printed project completed by Robert Rauschenberg before his death. The prints which combine intaglio printing and digital impressions are based on the artist’s photographs from his trip to China between 1982 and 1985. This project stands out in Rauschenberg’s printed oeuvre for its method of production and use of new printing tools. While the imagery in The Lotus Series is hardly new, Rauschenberg’s reuse of these motifs – more than two decades after he took the photographs – is itself a fascinating aspect of the project. There is a tension between the nostalgic, faded photos of China and the rendering of these in the digitally enhanced colors and high-resolution output on paper. With this series, Rauschenberg blends the traditional with the innovative, prompting the viewer to look at a receding past with the hyper clarity that today’s technology has made possible and to reflect on the very ability, or inability, to function in a constantly changing and developing environment.

Square Word Calligraphy is a new kind of writing, almost a code, designed by Xu Bing. The idea of inventing this new form of writing came to Xu Bing when he observed the attitude of awe and respect with which non-Asians regard Chinese calligraphy. Intrigued, he sought to create a work that would demystify calligraphy, and reward the Westerner’s engagement. For Square Word Calligraphy, Xu Bing designed a system whereby English words are written in the format of a square, so as to resemble Chinese characters, using the concept of classical Chinese stroke order.