Abstract Expressionism in the Museum für Asiatische Kunst? As well as landscapes, an unusual silhouette portrait and some expressive images of plants, the exhibition also features a series of abstract ink compositions. To a Western eye, these abstract paintings may not look very Chinese.

In the twentieth century, with its vast social changes, artists all over the world sought out new modes of expression. Ideas and influence went in more than one direction. While Abstract Expressionists in America were fascinated by East Asian calligraphy and philosophy, Chinese artists were inspired by developments in the West.

East Asian painting has always been marked by a particular relation to abstraction. It has never been primarily oriented towards the realistic depiction of landscape or setting. The objects shown in a painting are simply a framework allowing an artist to work out the picture’s formal aspects. It is through the use of technical and artistic devices that the artist expresses his own personality.