By Dr. Yeqin Zuo, director of Vermilion Art

“Paper is essentially the most fundamental of all material forms for an artist. Paper is where an idea begins, begins with the word, begins with the gesture, begins with the line.” Alexie Glass-Kantor said at a recent exhibition opening at Vermilion Art. 

The first creation of paper was documented in China during the Eastern Han period (25-220CE). It was made from pulp in paper mills similar to the process of how paper is made today. From its early creation, paper quickly became used as an artistic medium.

The process of making paper spread from China, through the Middle East, and into Europe by the 13th century. Paper has been the major media for Chinese artists in antient time and now. Work on paper is one of the most important media for contemporary Chinese artists including some super names like Ai Weiwei (papercut), Cai Guoqiang (gunpowder on paper) and Xu Bing who created English calligraphy on paper. 

Now days, contemporary artists all around the world now experiment with all different types of paper and subjects. In the TATE collection, among the total collection of 780,000 artworks, there are 680,000 works on paper. In recent art fairs, leading galleries like Gagosian, Skarstedt, and Lévy Gorvy had significant portions of their booths given over to work on paper. This is a new wave of work on paper since 1970s when drawing were particularly popular among collectors in the west. Potential collectors could feel overwhelmed by large-scale installations or performative works or videos; work on paper may seem safer, as a non-threatening medium. 

Vermilion Art is pleased to present the first Work on Paper booth at Sydney Contemporary.  We are thrilled to show various forms of works on paper by leading artists including Li Jin, Chen Wenling, Fang Lijun, Ah Xian as well as emerging woman artist Tao Aimin, Wang Yunyun.