436 - QU Qianmei (born in 1956)

QU Qianmei (born in 1956) "2012 L-05" Mixed media on wood panel Signed and titled on the back 180 x 130 cm (Minor losses) Description: Qu Qianmei, born in 1956 in Ruian, Zhejiang Province, discovered lacquer—an ancient tradition of her native region—at a very young age. Based in France since 1985 and now dividing her time between Paris and Shanghai, she has developed a material abstraction that combines the influence of Parisian lyrical abstraction—in the tradition of Zao Wou-Ki and Chu Teh-Chun—with Chinese landscape painting. The work of Antoni Tàpies has guided her toward textures and materials: lacquer, wood powder, mineral pigments, kaolin, and pu-erh tea form deeply textured surfaces that straddle the boundary between painting and sculpture. Her work was exhibited at UNESCO in 2012 and at numerous institutions in China, and her pieces are included in the collections of UNESCO and Rouen Cathedral.