An Ikebana Demonstration and Tea Ceremony

花影茶香

Time | 时间: Saturday, August 7, 2021, 2:30–5:30 pm

Location | 地点: Fou Gallery, 410 Jefferson Avenue, #1, Brooklyn, NY11221

Flower Artist | 花艺师: Zi Ye

Tea Practitioner | 茶人: Echo He

Maximum number of participants | 参与人数限制: 20

Ticket Price | 费用: $25

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New York - Fou Gallery is delighted to invite you to our Ikebana Demonstration and Tea Ceremony on August 7th, responding to the current exhibition Wei Jia: Good Times. As a participant, you will enjoy the Ikebana demonstration performed by Zi Ye and the tea ceremony led by Echo He. Experiencing the beauty and joy of everyday life, you will be able to appreciate and meditate on the elegant colors and the natural and varied texture of Wei Jia's works.

Flower artist Ye Zi will implement Ikebana flower arrangement inspired by Wei Jia’s blue-toned work No. 19246 and red-toned work No. 19238. Ikebana respects the natural characteristics of plants, intending to create serene forms with profound connotations. Zi Ye will improvise and explain the flower arrangement creation on site, temporarily transforming the exhibition space into a garden of naturalness and simplicity.

“Tea is a herbal treasure.” Tea practitioner Echo He will present a contemporary Chinese tea ceremony and share two kinds of Chinese tea. Participants will follow Echo He to perform the rituals of brewing, observing, smelling and sipping the tea, and appreciate the beauty of the aromatic atmosphere constituted by tea leaves, the water, the heat, the tea set, and everyone’s manners and emotions. Together, we will experience the four principles of tea - “和、敬、清、寂 He, Jing, Qing, Ji”: Harmony of Nature, Modesty from Virtues, Silence in Calmness, and Serenity with Constancy.

The works presented in Wei Jia's solo exhibition Good Times are collages of handmade Chinese paper and fragments of his old works. His creations are not concerned with existing painting forms and styles, but simply present in the most straightforward and improvised way as a light-hearted and sincere expression of his true feelings. In terms of color compositions, Wei Jia hopes to express the characteristics of traditional Chinese colors naturally in a contemporary context, so that people can perceive the aura and connotation of this unique culture at first sight. No. 19246 and No. 19238 have a blue and a red color spectrum, both of which are close to the traditional Chinese painting pigments. Meanwhile, Chinese handmade paper, mostly known as Xuan paper, is also a favored art material for Wei Jia. It changes its texture to transparent when exposed to water without changing its toughness, and returns to its original color and texture after drying. Wei Jia believes that handmade paper is both literary and ethnic, and its versatility, unpredictability and naturalness from grass and wood always have great charm. Chinese handmade paper is an important part of his painting language and content.

Inspired by Wei Jia: Good Times, this Ikebana Demonstration and Tea Ceremony hopes to continue exploring the beauty and enjoyment of daily life through the art forms of "flower" and "tea" in addition to the form of "painting".

Wei Jia, No. 19246, 2021. Gouache, Ink and Xuan Paper Collage on Paper, 68 7/8 x 42 inches. ©Wei Jia, courtesy of Fou Gallery and Chambers Fine Art — Wei Jia, *No. 19246*, 2021. Gouache, Ink and Xuan Paper Collage on Paper, 68 7/8 x 42 inches. ©Wei Jia, courtesy of Fou Gallery and Chambers Fine Art

纽约 - 否画廊盛情邀请您参加8月7日的花道与茶道集会《花影茶香》。活动参加者将跟随花艺师叶子与茶人何雨先后进行花道与茶道体验，同时将置身于正在画廊进行的韦佳个展《好时节》，在韦佳作品柔和雅致的色彩与自然多变的纸张肌理之间进行欣赏和冥思，体味日常生活之美妙与乐趣。

花艺设计师叶子自韦佳正在否画廊展出的一幅蓝色调作品《No. 19246》与一幅红色调作品《No. 19238》获得灵感，将于展览现场进行相似配色与主题的插花创作。花道尊重植物的本性和姿态，通过形态、色彩和质感的搭配与打磨来创造创造宽宏的意境与深刻的内涵。叶子将在现场即兴进行插花创作并同时讲解，将展览的空间暂时变为充满自然气息、返璞归真的花之园地。

“茶为草木珍”，茶人何雨将以当代茶道的方式分享两种中国茶。参加者将跟随何雨进行沏茶、赏茶、闻茶、饮茶的礼仪，共同鉴赏茶叶、茶水、火候、茶具、环境同饮者的修养、情绪形成的意境之美，以体味“和敬清寂”之精神：物我合一之和谐、虚怀若谷之谦敬、心无杂念之清静、无始无终之宁寂。

韦佳在个展《好时节》中展出的作品均为中国手工纸与他旧作残片的拼贴。艺术家的这批创作无虑于已存在的绘画形式和风格，仅仅是以最为简易、直接、即兴的方式呈现内心，是轻松而诚恳的真情流露。在色彩创作上，韦佳希望将中国传统色彩的特性自然地在当代语境下表达出来，令人一见便感知到独属于中华文化的气息与内涵。《No. 19246》与《No. 19238》的色谱一蓝一红，皆为接近头青、二绿、鹅黄、朱砂、绯色、朱磦等传统中国画颜料的配色。同时，以宣纸为代表的中国手工纸也是极受韦佳青睐的艺术材料，其遇水会变为透明质感，同时不改韧性，晾干后又会恢复原先的颜色和质地，在此过程中产生的张力甚至能拉弯一块木板。韦佳认为手工纸兼具文人气息与民族性格，其变化、偶然性与天然的草木肌理具有极大的魅力，是他常用的绘画语言及内容的重要组成部分。

本次《花影茶香》活动深受韦佳个展启发，希望在“画”的形式之外，以“花”与“茶”的艺术形式继续探索生活之美、日常之趣。