Fu Qiumeng Fine Art is pleased to present Contemplation / Meditation: Concepts and Cultures, a co-curated exhibition by Fu Qiumeng and Jeffrey Wechsler that explores how Eastern and Western artistic traditions have visualized inner stillness, reflection, and states of heightened awareness.
Rooted in classical Chinese philosophy, the exhibition draws inspiration from Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist thought, where inner cultivation and cosmic order are understood as deeply interconnected. From Confucian contemplation—emphasizing moral clarity, calm reflection, and self-perfection—to Daoist and Zen practices of meditation that quiet the mind, dissolve conceptual thinking, and release ego attachment, Eastern traditions have long approached art not as visual imitation, but as a conduit for spiritual resonance and embodied presence.
In contrast and dialogue, the exhibition also considers Western artists who, whether intuitively or through direct engagement with Eastern philosophy, pursued similar contemplative states. Featuring works that range from classical and modern East Asian art to modern and contemporary American painting, Contemplation / Meditation presents images that are sometimes representational, often abstract, and always oriented toward inducing clarity, calmness, or mental acuity.
Through restrained brushwork, expansive emptiness, spontaneous gesture, and subtle fields of color, the exhibition reveals how different cultural frameworks converge in a shared pursuit: using art to access states of stillness, insight, and presence.
The exhibition includes works by Arnold Chang, Michael Cherney, Duxi Chen, Hisao Hanafusa, Zhang Xiaoli, Brandon Sadler, Luo Min, Fung Ming Chip, Tang Ke, Wang Mansheng, Yau Wingfung, Sal Sirugo, and Rollin Crampton, among others.
