Skip Navigation

100 Layers of Ink

Yang Jiechang

Asian Art

In the decade between 1989 and 1999, Yang Jiechang created this painting as part of his seminal series, 100 Layers of Ink. He applied black Chinese ink repeatedly to the same piece of traditional xuan paper, until the paper became saturated and more three-dimensional, and then mounted it on canvas. By combining processes of traditional Chinese and European painting and mounting, Yang’s work benefits from the absorbency of xuan paper and the stability provided by the canvas. Alum, a salt employed by Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1279–1368) dynasty painters, was used to modulate the absorbency of the paper and facilitate the layering of the ink. Together these materials create a shiny, black, textured surface that becomes particularly glossy and luminous when layered more than thirty times. This technique of multiple layers of ink is also connected to Yang’s study of Zen Buddhism and Daoism; the process becomes a kind of meditation. He first developed this process when he was one of three Chinese artists chosen to participate in the milestone exhibition Magiciens de la Terre, held at the Centre Pompidou, in Paris, in 1989.
MEDIUM Ink and acrylic on paper laid down on canvas
  • Place Made: China
  • DATES 1994
    DIMENSIONS 37 1/8 × 26 5/16 × 3/4 in. (94.3 × 66.8 × 1.9 cm) framed: 39 x 27 15/16 in. (99 x 71 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 2014.35.2
    CREDIT LINE Gift of David Solo
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Yang Jiechang (Chinese, born 1956). 100 Layers of Ink, 1994. Ink and acrylic on paper laid down on canvas, 37 1/8 × 26 5/16 × 3/4 in. (94.3 × 66.8 × 1.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of David Solo, 2014.35.2. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2014.35.2_PS9.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 2014.35.2_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT © Jiechang Yang
    The Brooklyn Museum holds a non-exclusive license to reproduce images of this work of art from the rights holder named here. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org. If you wish to contact the rights holder for this work, please email copyright@brooklynmuseum.org and we will assist if we can.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
    Yang Jiechang (Chinese, born 1956). <em>100 Layers of Ink</em>, 1994. Ink and acrylic on paper laid down on canvas, 37 1/8 × 26 5/16 × 3/4 in. (94.3 × 66.8 × 1.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of David Solo, 2014.35.2. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2014.35.2_PS9.jpg)