Son Man-jin, Hwa Kwan Dong Jin, 2003. Engraving and color on tile, 8 x 4 x 16in. (20.3 x 10.2 x 40.6cm), Gift of Kim KyooYun, 2003.114, © Son Man-jin.

SEATTLE, WA.- Calligraphic Abstraction is about beauty. It’s a celebration of one of the oldest artistic traditions – and what can be seen just by looking. On view now at SAM’s Asian Art Museum, the exhibition presents 36 outstanding works selected from collections of the Seattle Art Museum and private collectors to showcase this art form that has thrived for thousands of years. 

In East Asia, calligraphy is more than a means of written communication; it lies at the core of arts for learned minds. It also has profound connections with philosophy and literature, as scholarship on calligraphy to date has well explored. For those who are not versed in the language or familiar with the culture, however, calligraphy can be better appreciated as abstract art for its beauty—compositional structure and flow of lines, for example—rather than to attempt to decipher the meaning of the words. 

With representative works ranging from Islamic to archaic Chinese style, to contemporary artist Xu Bing’s invented writing system, and the Pacific Northwest artist Mark Tobey’s calligraphy-inspired work, the first gallery of the exhibition provides an overview, conveying that calligraphy can be appreciated as abstract art across cultures. 

Xu Bing, Couplet: Learning from the Past, Moving Forward in Time, 2009. Calligraphy: Ink on paper, 56 1/2 x 16 3/4in. (143.5 x 42.5cm), Gift of the artist in honor of Mimi Gardner Gates, 2010.7.1-.2, © Xu Bing. PHOTO: ELIZABETH MANN

Mark Tobey, Untitled Calligraphic, 1953. Transparent and opaque watercolor on paper, mounted on board, 37 1/16 x 11 in. (94.2 x 28 cm) Overall h.: 45 3/4 in. Overall w.: 19 in., Gift of Miss Joanna Eckstein, 70.90, © Mark Tobey / Seattle Art Museum

The striking juxtaposition of two primary categories of Japanese calligraphy— kana and kanji—is featured in the second and third galleries. The elegance of kana calligraphy lies in its line, flow, and rhythm. Paper decoration is also part of the beauty. Many works have elaborate backgrounds, embellished with silver or gold flakes, or adorned with printed patterns deliberately chosen to match with the calligraphy. 

Waka poem, Hon'ami Koetsu, Japanese, 1558 – 1637, 54 7/16 × 17 5/8 in., Private collection.

Album of waka, early 17th century, Attributed to Emperor Go-Yōzei, Japanese, 1571 – 1617, 7 15/16 × 9 3/16 in., Private collection.

Kanji calligraphy, akin to Chinese counterpart, emphasizes the overall composition in addition to each individual line. The style is more masculine compared with kana calligraphy, hence the term “otokode” or man’s writing. The juxtaposition of kana calligraphy (or “onnade,” woman’s writing) with kanji calligraphy offers a balanced view of Japanese calligraphy through some superb and rarely seen examples from private collections.