Artwork Title Whispers of Ravines and Springs (丘壑泉鸣)
Artist 操青松 (Cao Qingsong), member of the modern artists collective "Jianghan Eight Fellows (江汉八友)"
Date 2025
Medium Chinese ink painting on paper, traditionally mounted (装裱)
Dimensions 69 cm × 138 cm
Description
Cao Qingsong’s Whispers of Ravines and Springs invites viewers into a meditative journey through a timeless Chinese landscape. Dominated by towering, ink-washed mountains rendered with rugged cunfa (texture strokes), the composition balances raw geological grandeur with delicate human presence. A modest hut, nestled in the lower left quadrant, glows in muted ochre and moss-green hues—its orange-tiled roof a subtle beacon of warmth amid the monochromatic wilderness. The hut’s linear precision contrasts with the abstracted, mist-shrouded peaks, evoking the Daoist ideal of harmony between humanity and nature. Sweeping liubai (negative space) conjures ethereal clouds and flowing streams, while calligraphic inscriptions in the lower right anchor the work within the classical tradition of “poetry within painting.”
Material and Technique
Executed on xuan paper, the painting exemplifies the “five shades of ink” (mo fen wu se), from velvety blacks to translucent grays, to map the terrain’s spiritual and physical depth. Cao employs pomo (splashed ink) for distant peaks, creating an atmospheric haze, while gongbi (fine-line) brushwork defines the hut’s wooden beams and tile textures. The silk mounting, with its muted brocade borders, echoes the restraint of Ming dynasty scholar-artists, underscoring the work’s dialogue between past and present.
Cultural Dialogue
This piece bridges the contemplative ethos of classical Chinese landscapes with modernist minimalism. The hut’s vivid yet understated coloring recalls Mark Rothko’s chromatic meditations, while the mountains’ dynamic brushwork mirrors the gestural energy of Abstract Expressionism. Yet Cao’s adherence to sansui (mountain-water) conventions—particularly the use of san yuan (three distances) perspective—roots the work in a lineage spanning Guo Xi to Shitao, reimagined for an era of environmental reflection.
Contextualization
As part of the Jianghan Eight Fellows, Cao Qingsong revitalizes ink painting’s relevance amid China’s urbanization. Whispers of Ravines and Springs responds to contemporary anxieties about ecological fragility, framing the hut not as a retreat but as a fragile sanctuary. Its 2025 creation coincides with global debates on sustainability, positioning the piece as both a homage to tradition and a quiet manifesto for coexistence. The work’s monumental scale and intimate details challenge digital-age distractions, urging viewers to “read” landscapes as texts of cultural memory.
Exhibition Note
Whispers of Ravines and Springs underscores nature’s enduring role as a site of artistic and philosophical inquiry. A tactile replica of xuan paper and ink stones accompanies the display, allowing visitors to explore the materiality behind Cao’s craft. Augmented reality stations decode the calligraphic inscriptions, revealing classical poetry that mirrors the imagery—a fusion of ancient lyricism and cutting-edge interpretation.