[ GALLERY ]
On View In The Islands
The art of
Tai ChiAFTER 20 years of doing Tai Chi, Dieter Runge decided to combine the discipline with his penchant for art. The result is 100 colorful paintings of Tai Chi postures lining the wall of the Soullenz Gallery in Chinatown.
"I wanted to express my love for Tai Chi and inspire people through art to get them in touch with Tai Chi," he says.
Runge used the 100 works to explore as many different ways of painting as he could. He employed different brush strokes, thinly painted some works, thickly painted others, outlined some figures while others almost merged with the background. Paint colors are both subdued and vibrant.
The variety, Runge says, expresses the distinctive flows of Tai Chi -- "sometimes Yin, yielding energy, and sometimes Yang, powerful energy."
The paintings are based on photographs of Tung Ying-Chieh, a Tai Chi grand master. Grand master Dong Zeng Chen, his grandson, is Runge's teacher.
Runge's works will be on display at Soullenz Gallery, located at 186 N. King St., through Thursday. The gallery is open 11 a.m. to 3 pm. and 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and by appointment. Call 291-2650 for more information.
Dieter Runge's Tai Chi paintings on exhibit at Soullenz Gallery illustrate 100 postures of the discipline. The trio of works on this page are collectively called "Grasping the Birds Tail." Individually, they are called: Brushknee push (purple painting), wave hands like clouds (orange) and single whip (blue). The paintings are all 8 inches-by-10 inches in size.
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