PROVENANCE
Bruun Rasmussen Auction, Copenhagen, DenmarkPrivate Collection, Asia

By the 1970s, Ting has gathered a tremendous creative energy having spent more than ten years in New York. While his artistic style changed from abstract to figurative paintings, “women” was always his favorite topic where he spent most of his energy. While living in New York, Ting began to develop a style which the strokes were strong and wild, the colors vibrant, proud, and unconventional, an approach reflecting Ting’s character. One cannot deny that the city itself, free, innovative, and blooming with culture, also took part in shaping Ting’s unique style. As his focus transformed from abstract to figurative paintings, his state of mind also began to change. He spent large amounts of time painting “women”, his favorite topic. During this period, the lines in his works demonstrated similar styles from Fauvism. In actuality, during his early days in Europe, the CoBrA artists already provided Ting with the inspirations for a similar style. With an overall exaggerated tone, the female figures on Ting’s canvas are sometimes graceful, sometimes emotional, but always charming.

Give Me a Hug resembles the delicate atmosphere that the Impressionist Edgar Degas once created in his female portrait paintings. The painting displays Ting’s highly-refined ability to create an alluring and glamorous world with the use of bright, vivid, fresh color is on full display. Ting’s most prominent feature is to depict the alluring beauty of flowers and women, captured in abundantly rich and bright images while offering a feast for the senses. With the flowers and the woman drifting on the background in the indefinable turquoise color, this auctioned piece exudes a mysterious, dreamy charm and abundance of sweetness.