The Long Journey of Chinese Abstraction

The journey toward abstraction is not an escape from reality, but a different way of seeing it. This is the idea at the heart of The Journey to Abstract, the exhibition at Star Gallery in Beijing bringing together three leading figures of modern and contemporary Chinese art: Wu Dayu, Yu Youhan and Zhang Wei. Spanning nearly a century of painting, the exhibition traces how abstraction developed a uniquely Chinese voice. A pioneer of modernism, Wu Dayu introduced the influence of the European avant-garde to China, transforming colour into a vehicle for pure emotion. Yu Youhan, also renowned for his iconic paintings of Mao, explores the dialogue between geometry, memory and pop culture, while Zhang Wei, a founding member of the groundbreaking Stars Group, embraces expressive gestures and richly textured surfaces to create paintings that are both powerful and deeply personal. Although they belong to different generations, the three artists share a common belief: painting does not need to depict the visible world to express something essential. Colour, rhythm and material become a universal language, capable of transcending words and cultural boundaries. For Western visitors, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to discover a lesser-known side of Chinese art - one shaped not by tradition or political narratives, but by artistic freedom, poetic expression and a remarkably contemporary vision.