Walasse Ting, who was born in 1929 in Wuxi and spent his formative years in Shanghai, was a multifaceted creative—working as a sculptor, poet, graphic artist, and self-taught painter. His artistic journey had humble beginnings on the sidewalks of his youth. In 1949, he departed China, eventually settling in Paris for a six-year tenure starting in 1952. During this period of financial hardship, he established connections with CoBrA-group luminaries such as Pierre Alechinsky, Asger Jorn, and Karel Appel.
By 1958, Ting relocated to New York City, immersing himself in the burgeoning Abstract Expressionist scene. Influenced heavily by this movement and bonded by a friendship with Sam Francis, Ting found the professional success that had eluded him in France, successfully exhibiting and selling his canvases. Initially, his work drew inspiration from the poetic abstractions of Zao Wouki, characterized by fluid, dripping marks. However, it was during the 1970s that he established his signature aesthetic, blending calligraphic outlines with vibrant acrylics applied to flat, colorful planes.
As the years progressed, Ting continued to hone this expressive style, eventually garnering international acclaim for his bright, theatrical figurative pieces. Following a two-decade residency in New York, he relocated to Amsterdam. His career was tragically curtailed by a catastrophic brain hemorrhage in 2002. After his children facilitated his return to New York, Ting passed away in May 2010.
www.ftn-books.com has some beautiful and highly collectable publications by Ting. Recently i added the Delaive catalog, a signed and dedicated copy in MINT- condition, to its collection.
