Born in 1943, Beijing/Australian
calligrapher and visual artist, Zhang Dawo is known
for his many facets of art including photography.
Dawo's artistic nature is deeply rooted
in the ancient culture of Jin-Shi (artistic etching
and engraving of symbols and writing on metal and
stone - 4 000 BC), at the same time he has a fiery
ambition of pushing the frontier of contemporary
art.
For the first 40 years of his life he
totally immersed himself in traditional forms. Since
1982, he has overcome the classical barrier, by
moving from the two dimensional into the three
dimensional, a visual revolution made largely
possible by the rearrangement of the spatial
construction and the use of different tones of ink
on special calligraphic paper. An example of this
modern calligraphy is 'Ce' (Volume) which is
considered as being "in the period of present day
Chinese art renaissance, unique and one of the most
creative pieces of work".
After 1990 Dawo's work crossed the
boundary of modern calligraphy into modern art
pushing its frontier with the ink medium. 'Dawo
Black in White Miaomo' has completely moved away
from the recognisable characters. It is "a form of
unique eastern abstract art with unsurpassable
quality"; the style is "free and fluid", graceful
and vivid: a forceful expression of romanticism and
mysticism of the Oriental.
Dawo is member of the Association of
Chinese Calligraphers and the Committee member of
the Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting
(China).
He is the founder of the Australian
Society of East-West Art, Writing and Modeling.
His artistic talent is revealed by the
creative art work 'Dawo Miaomo'.
Since 1985 Zhang Dawo has participated
in many national and international exhibitions, solo
and group exhibitions. His work is
represented in many national and international
public, corporate and private collections - such as
the British Museum, Reuters China, UN Organisations,
German Consulate in Beijing and also Rupert Murdoch.