Walasse Ting, The flower thief (1929-2011)

After leaving China, Walasse Ting came to Paris in 1952. His expressive creations caused him to gravitate toward the COBRA group, of which certain members, such as Pierre Alechinsky, acquired certain Asian painting techniques. While his predilection for Matisse was confirmed during his Parisian years, it was in New York that Walasse Ting discovered his unique universe, made of alternations between ink and pure colour, between the codes of Chinese painting and the spontaneity of Action Painting. He thus became a part of the New York creative scene through collective works, like the “1 cent” project (1964), which brought together Alechinsky and Sam Francis, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Asger Jorn, Robert Indiana, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, among others. In 1970, Walasse Ting donated 80 paintings to the Cernuschi Museum. This unique collection, that had never been exhibited, underwent a several-year restoration project, making it possible to rediscover his abundant and playful universe. From monumental compositions portraying women with plant-like bodies, to the pages of a confession book, this collection is inseparable from the subversive figure of the “flower thief”, the imaginary alter ego of the artist.