Walasse Ting

Walasse Ting (1929–2010) was a Chinese-born American artist whose practice evolved from gestural abstraction in the 1950s toward a more figurative style characterized by vivid colors, female figures, and floral motifs. After moving to Paris, Ting became part of the international postwar art scene, working among American and European artists, including Joan Mitchell. They were connected through the international art circles of Paris and New York in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Both were associated with second-generation Abstract Expressionism and became friends.

In 1964, they collaborated on 1 Cent Life —a project, impressive in scale, initiated by Sam Francis (1923–1994) and Walasse Ting(1929–2010), bringing together 28 European and American artists. Joan Mitchell contributed one lithograph to accompany one of 62 letterpress poems by Ting. The book was executed in Paris by Atelier Maurice Beaudet.