Guided Viewing: Perception: Cai Xiao-song with Katherine Don (CANCELLED)

Sotheby’s Hong Kong will present "Perception: Cai Xiao-song" 蔡小松, a solo exhibition showcasing new paintings by the Beijing-based artist. In his new series, Cai shifts his artistic focus from representational expression to a visual interpretation of the world on a metaphysical level. Meticulously executed scholar’s rocks, planets, and Buddhist sculptures frequently seen in his previous works now give way to semi-abstract landscapes, full of movement and rhythm that capture the essence of nature instead of its physical forms.

This new series manifests a mature style, not only demonstrating confidence in brushwork but also emphasizing movement and maintaining resonance in overall composition. Marking a departure from Chinese painting tradition, Cai applies his gongbi brushwork technique to the rendition of abstract forms. The visual movement and vitality seen in these landscapes are created by multiple layers of ink wash, each applied on top of the other once completely dried. Such a slow process, in his own words, “gives life to the painting as if ink itself grows from paper and gradually transforms into a finished composition, full of power and visual impact.”

Resource Person
Our tour will be led by Katherine Don, Sotheby’s Department Head of Contemporary Ink Art in Asia (since August 2014). She is responsible for organising the bi-annual Contemporary Ink Art ("Contemporary Literati series") and selling exhibitions in Hong Kong.

Prior to joining Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Katherine was an art advisor specialising in contemporary Chinese art. From 2013 to 2014, she was a key contributor to Sotheby’s Contemporary Ink sales in New York and Hong Kong as a consultant.

For nine years, Katherine established and directed RedBox Studio Ltd., an art advisory firm for private collectors of contemporary Chinese art. Her curatorial activities in
Beijing, New York, Canada and Spain had a consistent focus on works on paper, including contemporary Chinese ink painting. Prior to 2005, she worked at several New York art galleries, including Goedhuis Contemporary where she served as Director for two years.

Katherine holds a dual-degree in Art History and East Asian Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University, and received a Masters degree from UCLA Anderson School of Management.