PENCIL x BRUSH

A calligraphy art exhibition inspired by Sol Lewitt

Singapore, Dec 2013

Sy Lyng

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Pencil x Brush

This selection of ink drawings is part of an ongoing exercise inspired by Sol Lewitt’s Drawing Series.

Pencil

American conceptual artist, Sol Lewitt’s Drawing Series created between 1969 and 1970 presented a system of sets of squares containing the permutations of straight lines in four directions—vertical, horizontal, diagonal left, and diagonal right.

The eventual commissioned Wall Drawings, rendered in graphite, colour pencils and ink washes, were conceived from specific drawing instructions by the artist to be executed by others.

As each executer’s interpretation of the same set of instructions varies, so does the results. The artist anticipated the variants in the final work as part of the piece.

Brush

The practice of Chinese Calligraphy calls for the mastery of the brush achieved through a basic training of drawing consistent straight lines.

Pursuing this cause with strict adherence to Sol Lewitt’s drawing instructions, the exercise aims to reiterate his Drawing Series in brush and ink on rice paper.

In this case the variables are amplified by the inherent inconsistency in a brush stroke.