Artwork Interpretation: Ink Horse Series

In BEI Jiaxiang’s works, each ink painting of horse captures a moment steeped in overwhelmingly vigorous emotion. The abdominal and hip areas are rendered with soft yet ample curves, complemented by lighter ink washes that outline a robust physique, highlighting a resilient texture and serving as a source of dynamic power throughout the composition. The horse legs are depicted as strong and upright, seemingly poised to charge through the paper. While the mane and tail are consistently depicted as exuberantly flowing, reminiscent of untamed winds and flames.

In the detailed part, BEI masterfully employs bold ink tones to depict the curves and angles of the horse’s prominent skeletal features, while also utilizing dry brush techniques for the mane and tail, effortlessly creating natural variations in depth and moisture. Depending on the horse’s posture and the play of light, BEI varies his depictions through both shading and the use of negative space, resulting in clear layers of color and vivid contrasts of light and shadow. This showcases both the horse’s three-dimensionality and the rhythmic beauty of ink.

BEI not only employs the boneless approach of ink painting fluidly in the realistic depiction of animal forms, but he also integrates this unique textural quality of traditional Chinese literati painting into his oil works. In the oil paintings of horses created based on his ink drafts, BEI achieves a remarkable lightness in the application of paint, allowing the pigments to flow across the canvas like ink, wandering whimsically and freely.

Ink Horse II 25

Ink On Paper

120×52cm

Due to the inherent limitations of the materials, BEI Jiaxiang’s ink horse series is somewhat lacking in fineness compared to his oil paintings. However, this absence of complexity serves to accentuate the essential qualities of the horse on white paper, embodying a subtle yet powerful force that captures the essence of Chinese painting—an allure that remains irreplaceable.