The opening exhibition Where does it all begin? Contemporary Abstract Art in Asia and the West provides a unique opportunity to see major artists from the USA and China, Europe and Indonesia, side by side, all exploring and revealing the power of abstract art today.

Curated by Philip Dodd, the acclaimed British arts writer and broadcaster, the exhibition explodes the myth that contemporary art from Asia is dependent on Western art, while revealing and celebrating the complex and ongoing dialogue between Western and Asian abstract art. The exhibition is mounted at a time when abstract art is becoming central again to the global art world after a period where conceptualism seemed to reign supreme.

Bridging the gap between East and West as well as across generations, Where does it all begin? Contemporary Abstract Art in Asia and the West will include works by a group of artists including Pat Steir, a major American abstract artist influenced by Chinese art and Taoism; two important Chinese artists Zhu Jinshi and Su Xiaobai, who both lived and studied in Germany and whose work is distinguished by their unique experiences, influences and emphasis on material; young British artist Peter Peri, whose works explore the tension between line and volume, figuration and abstraction, and art historical influences; and one of Indonesia’s most prominent female artists, Christine Ay Tjoe, whose work is delicate to the point of fragility and reveals an internal world full of inner thoughts, melancholy, struggle, pain, and happiness.

Featured works by: Zhu Jinshi, Pat Steir, Christine Ay Tjoe, Su Xiaobai and Pater Peri

Image: © Zhu Jinshi
Wooden Stick
2013
Oil on canvas
160 x 140cm