André Kneib

Fascinated by Chinese culture, French painter André Kneib studied calligraphy in China and displays in his work the influences of traditional ink painting and Western Expressionism. Focusing on individual Chinese characters, Kneib works in black ink and acrylic on paper, and has introduced earthy colors into many of his images. Kneib uses varying brush movements and degrees of pressure to produce his marks; he says of Chinese characters, “They open doors wide and offer so many unexpected encounters.” Applying the principles of the Chinese calligraphic tradition to Western terrains, Kneib also creates gestural landscape paintings of his hometown in Alsace-Lorraine, France.