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In the 1950s the first person to fall under his spell was Pierre Alechinsky
He saw in Walasse Ting " a merging of modern oriental calligraphy and western experimental work " and was immediately drawn to him
He saw that Walasse Ting was capable of teaching him oriental techniques such as calligraphy and how to hold
a paintbrush.
Walasse Ting in turn was able to go further, developing technically and aesthetically, during a lengthy stay in the United States, where he learnt the advantages of using acrylics. This led to his works " Central Park " and " Remarks in the margins "
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Through Alechinsky, Ting met Christian Dotremont who loved writing and who introduced him to the artists
in the CoBrA movement, where art and play intermingled. This inspired Walasse Ting, so that in addition to his artistic talents, he was able to show his literary gifts, by writing a number of poems.
New works were created in the light of these friendships and "complémentarity". Collaborative works by Alechinsky and Walasse Ting were referred to by Dotremont as The new discovery is that one and one equals three! There is a new artist : Aleching ! Aleching 1963 print 24 x 27cm by Pierre Alechinsky and Walasse Ting. Other works were produced by three artists together - Garde ta ligne 1962 drawing 43 x 27 cm by Pierre Alechinsky, Dotremont and Walasse Ting.
The complicity of the artists was clearly shown in their everyday life. Everyone relied on Walasse Ting to choose and buy their paintbrushes made of wolf hair in Mott-Street in Chinatown. He also had the important task of finding the best chinese restaurant !
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Walasse Ting's friendship with Asger Jorn became apparent when a collaborative work was produced by Asger Jorn, Walasse Ting, and Alechinsky, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the John Lefebre gallery in New York, in 1970.
They planned to produce three papers, each of a different format however only two were actually completed.
After heavy rain, where rainwater leaked under the windows, damaging their work, Ting chose one of the pictures, and sprinkled it with coloured rain before sending it to the gallery.
For the remaining piece it was completed only after Jorn's death.
In June 1974 Ting added two grasshoppers and Alechinsky finished the painting almost twenty three years after the first brushstroke. The painting was never signed by Alechinsky or Ting because Jorn had never signed it.
As a way of " refusing death " the painting 64 x 94 cm was given the title: Jorn's grave ? 1970-1993
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The fact that meeting Sam Francis greatly influenced Ting's work is understandable in the light of what the artists had in common. First of all they were both fascinated by Matisse. Like Matisse, Sam Francis felt that colours
were forces which could cure friends who were ill. He tested his theory by creating a huge painting- a big area
of bright yellow and orange with a white square in the middle. And I took the painting to a friend who was suffering from pancreatic problems, and told her : " Look at this picture everyday, and think about the colour," and hercondition improved drammatically. The picture helped make the pain go away ( Interview with Sam Francis : Yves Michaud )
Like Walasse Ting, Sam Francis was interested in I Ching and worked on it for a log time, after enlarging
the first two characters or hexagammes, in English and in Chinese so that they completely filled the space
on the wall, in order to communicate with his subconscious.
They became even closer in America, in December 1962 when the artists came together in Walasse Ting's studio, to illustrate a collection of his poems.
1 ¢ Life was the result of a huge project, a unique port-folio of 68 lithographs, by 28 different artists, from Europe and America, encapsulating a vast variety of artistic styles such as pop-art, dadaism , expressionism and abstract expressing their involment in the search for new painting styles.
After that, in 1972, they took part in a exhibition at the same time as Joan Mitchell.
It was the Fresh Air School exhibition, at the Pittsburg Museum of Art.
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