Smithe’s Vivid, Psychological Illustrations

Chinese artist Fu Chunqiang creates detailed illustrations with seemingly endless line work. Viewing his work up close, one begins to wonder how many times he cross-hatched his tiny marks to create the winding, looping forms we see. In many of the pieces, the shapes seem to be hooked into one another like the curves of infinity symbols. A widely opened mouth with shark-like rows of teeth encloses a war among insects and reptiles; a fan of peacock feathers conceals pairs of tiny human characters that seem to be caught, as if in a spider's web. Fu's work ranges in style, from flat, cartoony aliens to clouds that evoke traditional Chinese painting and realistically-rendered animals. But he approaches each style with the same frenetic energy that makes his work pulse.