The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 26, 2024

Study: "Waterfall, Chelsea Hotel, NY"

Study: "Waterfall, Chelsea Hotel, NY"

1978
(American, 1946–1989)
Image: 68 x 53.5 cm (26 3/4 x 21 1/16 in.); Paper: 73.6 x 58.5 cm (29 x 23 1/16 in.)
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Drawings such as this one have been described by Ching Ho Cheng’s sister, Sybao, as being “about contemplation and about self-transformation.”

Description

Born to a Chinese diplomat family in Cuba, Ching Ho Cheng spent much of his career in New York City, where he was involved in the city’s artistic scene from the 1960s through the ‘80s. The style of his artworks varied widely through the decades, but he consistently preferred to work on paper, resulting in drawings such as this one. It belongs to a series that Ching created in opaque gouache presenting subtle, everyday subjects in exacting detail. Here, the artist represented the cracked paint and droplets of moisture in the shower of his then lover Gregory Millard at the famed Chelsea hotel, known at the time for its vibrant avant-garde social scene. The viewer is situated as if entering the shower, a vantage point that contributes to its poignant sense of stasis and quietude.
  • 1978-2011
    Ching Ho Cheng Estate, New York, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
  • {{cite web|title=Study: "Waterfall, Chelsea Hotel, NY"|url=false|author=Ching Ho Cheng|year=1978|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.15