The project "The Art of Writing" presents a fascinating lineup of contemporary positions belonging to the artistic avant-gardes of China, Europe and the Arab world. Especially in Japan, China and Korea, but also in countries such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, the Emirates and Morocco or Algeria, writing is considered the »mother of all arts.« In Europe as well, there are a number of important artists who have a penchant for expressing themselves in writing. Artistic exchanges on this subject already took place in the mid-20th century, when some of the artists devoted to Art Informel sought close contact with Asia. What’s surprising is that artists in the Middle and Far East are only today finally casting off the constraints of prescribed written characters and are now creating a new abstract form of art in the course of their search for an individual identity. This presentation shows works of the highest quality, but also aspires to be more than just a showcase of top artwork. The goal is to instead illustrate and introduce to the viewer a very specific phenomenon. The artistic tangencies, overlaps and cross-fertilization between the cultures show that there is a world language of written art. This is the first juxtaposition of its kind ever to be attempted. The publication accompanying the exhibition demonstrates the power this art form derives from its origins and its development over the course of time.

Editor: Heinz Kroehl
Authors: André Kneib, Claus-Peter Haase, Heinz Kroehl, Karin Adrian von Roques

Hardcover
24 x 30 cm
320 pages
190 color ills.
German/English
available
ISBN 978-3-86828-212-2
48 Euro
2011