Gao Xingjian

"A mesmerizing gallery of ink-wash works that illustrates the different techniques, themes and periods in Gao's extensive body of work. The . . . book, however, is more than just a monochrome beauty. Bergez . . . plumbed the depths of Gao's works in brush and pen to surface the profound harmony between his writings and paintings. The result: a visually sumptuous read that is erudite yet approachable."--Huang Lijie "The Straits Times (Singapore) " "A triumph."--Jessica Harrison-Hall "curator, Department of Asia, British Museum " "[Gao] has been both lauded and criticised internationally for the complicated, elusive and labyrinthine structure of "Soul Mountain", which eschews a traditional plot for a series of personal, evocative ruminations. . . . His paintings, though deep, are burdened by no such convolutions. Their beauty lies in their intense simplicity. His works (always black ink on paper and, later, canvas) blend the abstract and the literal in remarkable, decisive ways. Images are fluid and interpretation is open, like a Rorschach. Is that a tree? A telephone pole? A bleeding wound? . . . Collected, the images are nothing short of astonishing."--Madeline Gressel "South China Morning Post " A mesmerizing gallery of ink-wash works that illustrates the different techniques, themes and periods in Gao s extensive body of work. The . . . book, however, is more than just a monochrome beauty. Bergez . . . plumbed the depths of Gao s works in brush and pen to surface the profound harmony between his writings and paintings. The result: a visually sumptuous read that is erudite yet approachable. --Huang Lijie "The Straits Times (Singapore) "" [Gao] has been both lauded and criticised internationally for the complicated, elusive and labyrinthine structure of "Soul Mountain," which eschews a traditional plot for a series of personal, evocative ruminations. . . . His paintings, though deep, are burdened by no such convolutions. Their beauty lies in their intense simplicity. His works (always black ink on paper and, later, canvas) blend the abstract and the literal in remarkable, decisive ways. Images are fluid and interpretation is open, like a Rorschach. Is that a tree? A telephone pole? A bleeding wound? . . . Collected, the images are nothing short of astonishing. --Madeline Gressel "South China Morning Post "" A triumph. --Jessica Harrison-Hall "curator, Department of Asia, British Museum ""

Daniel Bergez is an author, painter, literary and art critic, and professor of French literature. His books on the relationship between pictorial and literary creation, including "Litterature et peinture" ("Literature and Painting"), are authorities in the field. Sherry Buchanan is a publisher, editor, and author. Before she created Asia Ink, she worked for the "Wall Street Journal" and "The" "International Herald Tribune" in Brussels, Paris, London, and Hong Kong."