Lot 3841: FORGETTING ONE ANOTHER IN RIVERS AND LAKES

WANG MANSHENG (BORN 1962) FORGETTING ONE ANOTHER IN RIVERS AND LAKES Hanging scroll, ink on paper Inscribed and signed by the artist, with three seals Dated xinmao year (2011) 97 x 46 5/8 in. (246.5 x 118.5 cm.)

246.5 x 118.5 cm.

Wang Mansheng was born in Taiyuan and started studying traditional painting and calligraphy, largely independently, from a young age. After attaining a degree in Chinese classics from Fudan University in Shanghai, he directed and produced documentary programs at China Central Television. Since he moved to the United States in 1996, Wang Mansheng has worked as an artist and educator. He has exhibited his paintings widely in China and the United States, and last year he had a large solo-exhibition in the Shanxi Museum. His paintings and calligraphy are part of numerous private collections, as well as the Brooklyn Museum, Princeton University Art Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, and Shanxi Museum. More information can be found about the artist and his art on his website www.manshengwang.com. Forgetting One Another in Rivers and Lakes Wang Mansheng writes: “The title of this painting is taken from a chapter in the Zhuang Zi: ‘When the springs dry up and the fish are left stranded on the ground, they spew each other with moisture and wet each other down with spit - but it would be much better if they could forget each other in the rivers and lakes.’ (trans. Burton Watson). In China, the phrase “wetting each other with spit” represents a very special, moving kind of love between two people. But in the context of Zhuang Zi ‘s words, one can see that the environment in which this is happening is very precarious, the last moment of the fishes’ lives. I am reminded of the circumstances in which humans find ourselves now, with climate change. It would be better, as Zhuang Zi said, to be able to “forget each other in rivers and lakes,” that is, to have the freedom of wide-open spaces. In my experience, freedom and loneliness often go together. I created the “Forgetting One Another in Rivers and Lakes” series to express this feeling. I painted the tree in a “flying white” style with reeds gathered from the banks of the Hudson River.”