PRINTCatalogue Note:
Wou-ki's Abstract World
Wou-ki with philosophical thinking of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi
Wou-ki with philosophical thinking of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi
In the 20th century, two painting masters appeared in Chinese art circles. One was called "Buddhist artist" and the other was called "Taoist painter". The former refers to the Chinese painting master Chang Dai-chien and the latter refers to the painting master Zao Wou- ki.
Although Chang Dai-chien was a monk at youth, the theme he created was sometimes linked with Buddhist art, but now we have no intent on investigating the essence of their religious beliefs. In fact, the so-called "Buddhist artist" and "Taoism painter" were derived by an anecdote when two masters once met, they just amused each other with the other party's "name". The phrases of "Da-chien" and "Wou- ki" in Chinese are indeed rich in philosophical meaning. Here, we would like to introduce the creative painting master, Zao Wou-ki, who has philosophical thinking of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi.
The phrase, Wou-ki, was specially granted by the artist's grandfather, who was a believer of Taoism, as the given name of the artist. "Wou- ki" means the primordial state of the universe. It is the primeval chaos and is believed that was the stage before earth and sky were formed. Zhang Heng, an astronomer in Eastern Han Dynasty, had once put forward the concept of the infinite universe with the saying that "Yu represents Wou-ki, zhou symbolizes Taichi." The study of philosophical thinking of ininite universe has gradually become the artistic value abided by Zao Wou-ki in his life. All his paintings have been signed with two ancient Chinese characters, Wou-ki, showing that he is always thinking about his own cultural origin. The combination of "Wou-ki" of Chinese characters and "ZAO" of French letters implies the integration of two cultures.
Zao Wou-ki's ancestral home is in Jiangsu Province and he was born in Beijing in 1921. Six months after he was born, the whole families moved to a small town, Nantong, near Shanghai, and he completed his primary and secondary education there. Zao's is a well-known elegant family and its genealogy can be traced back to royal Prince Yan in Song Dynasty. Wou- ki is the eldest son of the family. His father was a banker in Shanghai, his mother was a traditional housewife and his grandfather was a celebrated scholar in Qing Dynasty. During the childhood, his grandfather instructed him to hold the brush practicing handwriting and he was also requested to read Analects of Confucius and Tang Poetry. Those reading and literacy experience had become the most primitive driving force for art later on. His father was a businessman and also fond of collecting antique calligraphy and paintings, in addition to an amateur painter of the western style. Two pieces of scroll by Chao Mong-Foo (AD 1254- 1322) and Mi Fu (AD 1051-1107) respectively were inevitably placed as heirloom when the family worship ancestor. Zao Wou- ki extremely esteems Mi Fu personally, and he praised him as one of the greatest artists in China and he once said: "He was the artist with other kind of vision to observe and he is a great calligrapher." Zao Wou-ki was later determined to apply for studying at Academy of Fine Arts, which was strongly supported and fully sponsored by his father. . His uncle was also good at art and often brought back western art postcards from Paris. Wou-ki was unconsciously influenced by art atmosphere of the family, as well as the encouragement and support of the older generation, which laid a good foundation for his development later on.
In 1935, 14-year-old Zao Wou-ki was smoothly admitted into Hangzhou National Academy of Art and he became the youngest students then. The principal, Lin Fengmian, had studied in France and Germany. Pan Tianshou taught Chinese painting and Wu Dayu instructed western painting, as the students of Hangzhou National Academy of Art must study both east and west paintings. But, Zao preferred west painting. Lin Fengmian and Wu Dayu had greatest affection on him and they completely allowed his concept of innovation. Art education in the academy inevitably had its limitation. His personal preference was the bright and lighthearted style of impressionist, and he diligently read a few foreign magazines at that time. He got to know the art of Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso. He gradually found the skill in painting, and considered that he himself was closer to the art of modern masters, rather than the traditional Chinese painting or the art style of European academy. In 1940s, he used his creative manner to accomplish landscape and portrait paintings. During his study at art academy, Sino-Japanese war was on. He studied in difficult conditions, fleeing and tramping always. Six years later, he graduated with distinction and stayed at the academy as a lecturer. He also held his irst solo exhibition in Chongqing. He was one of the youngest teachers at that time. Later, with the encouragement of Lin Fengmian, he and his wife went to France to study in 1948. Originally, he planned to study in France for two years only and he did not expect that he would have been living in Paris up till now.
Parisian poets and abstract art
Zao Wou-ki initially settled at Montparnasse in Paris, as the neighbor of the sculptor, Giacometti de. Musée Louvre and Académie de la Grand Chaumière were his nutrient resource in the very beginning. In the second year of his stay in France, he was favored by Galerie Creuze in Paris and it enabled him to hold an exhibition, which was immediately successful. His name was well known. In the first three years in Paris, he had met many young artists, such as Hans Hartung, Nicolas de Stael, Pierre Soulages, Vieira de Silva, and later on, Sam Francis, Norman Bluhm from New York and Jean-Paul Riopelle from Canada. These artists are the mainstream of the European painters afterwards.
Zao Wou-ki began a serious study of the works created by western masters, and he secretly decided to abandon ink printing, which he was good at, to avoid becoming narrow-minded "chinoiserie". Once it happened, he produced a batch of lithograph with minimal use of colors and a great deal of water, due to the budget. These paintings were thought to be a failure by the studio host, but after he finished these works, these ink exaggerated paintings showing on the paper with Chinese affection were unexpectedly appreciated highly by Henri Michaux (1899-1984), the great poet, who wrote the poems as the description of these works and printed them for publication, which were favored by the most people. Zao Wou-ki's early works are mostly igurative landscape or portraits. He has never dreamed of the fact that his initial intention of avoiding the "chinoiserie" turned out to be his irst signiicant step on the European artistic stage. Henri Michaux pointed out that Zao Wou-ki's paintings were not "landscape", but "nature", and his assessment of the paintings pleased the artist mood. Through the introduction of Henri Michaux, Zao Wou- ki quickly entered the literary circles in Paris, and gradually tended toward the path of abstract expressionism painting.
"Abstract Expressionism", also known as "Non- Figurative", was a new form of mainstream art that lourished after the Second World War. Their beliefs lie in the use of form and color in an art form that wholly express the artist's concept of self. Starting from Kandinsky onwards, abstract art turned into an important art phenomenon during the mid twentieth century, while Expressionism, which began from the paintings of Cézanne and van Gogh, reemerged again during this time due to the impact of war. The two streams of art combined to form a trend that mesmerized New York. Despite the differences in style among the members, they still dominated in their own respective domains. Two groups emerged from the trends, one of which was "Action Paintings" such as the likes of Jackson Pollock, William de Kooning, Franz Kline and Philip Guston;
the other group was "Color Field Painting", represented by the likes of Mark Rothko, Kenneth Noland and Robert Motherwell. After the war, European art was also simultaneously inspired by the American art, initiating the artistic trend "l art informel" one the European continent at nearly the same time. Representative figures include Hans Hartung, Gérard Schneider, Pierre Soulages etc., and Zao Wou-ki in precise, was one of the members from this artistic trend, favorably known was the lyric abstract painter.
Rediscover China
Zao Wou-ki once said: "Picasso taught us how to draw a Picasso, Cézanne taught me how to appreciate the essence of our Chinese paintings." He meant that the appreciation of Picasso's paintings couldn't get much room for inspiration, but for Cézanne, particularly when admiring the "Mont Sainte Victoire", "The undifferentiated hues between the mountains and the sky are strikingly similar to that in classical Chinese ink paintings." Zao Wou-ki thinks that travel is the best way to enrich the creativity. Chinese literati in the ancient time got the philosophy from visiting the mountains and rivers. Modern artists can naturally find the good materials to excite inspiration by visiting museum and sightseeing scenic spots around the world. In 1951, Zao Wou-ki traveled to Bern, Switzerland, and he discovered Paul Klee's paintings irst time in an exhibition. Paul Klee's paintings expressed the inner world by analogous calligraphic symbols, which fitted closed with the artist's mind. Inspired by Klee, who deeply influenced by Chinese calligraphy and Arabic text, Zao Wou-ki's paintings no longer show motionless objects, nor flowers exist. He has turned to an imaginable symbols and unreadable handwriting. Zao Wou-ki has found another level of western painting and entered the "poetical" free world.
Wou-ki with philosophical thinking of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi
Wou-ki with philosophical thinking of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi
In the 20th century, two painting masters appeared in Chinese art circles. One was called "Buddhist artist" and the other was called "Taoist painter". The former refers to the Chinese painting master Chang Dai-chien and the latter refers to the painting master Zao Wou- ki.
Although Chang Dai-chien was a monk at youth, the theme he created was sometimes linked with Buddhist art, but now we have no intent on investigating the essence of their religious beliefs. In fact, the so-called "Buddhist artist" and "Taoism painter" were derived by an anecdote when two masters once met, they just amused each other with the other party's "name". The phrases of "Da-chien" and "Wou- ki" in Chinese are indeed rich in philosophical meaning. Here, we would like to introduce the creative painting master, Zao Wou-ki, who has philosophical thinking of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi. The phrase, Wou-ki, was specially granted by the artist's grandfather, who was a believer of Taoism, as the given name of the artist. "Wou- ki" means the primordial state of the universe. It is the primeval chaos and is believed that was the stage before earth and sky were formed. Zhang Heng, an astronomer in Eastern Han Dynasty, had once put forward the concept of the infinite universe with the saying that "Yu represents Wou-ki, zhou symbolizes Taichi." The study of philosophical thinking of ininite universe has gradually become the artistic value abided by Zao Wou-ki in his life. All his paintings have been signed with two ancient Chinese characters, Wou-ki, showing that he is always thinking about his own cultural origin. The combination of "Wou-ki" of Chinese characters and "ZAO" of French letters implies the integration of two cultures.
Zao Wou-ki's ancestral home is in Jiangsu Province and he was born in Beijing in 1921. Six months after he was born, the whole families moved to a small town, Nantong, near Shanghai, and he completed his primary and secondary education there. Zao's is a well-known elegant family and its genealogy can be traced back to royal Prince Yan in Song Dynasty. Wou- ki is the eldest son of the family. His father was a banker in Shanghai, his mother was a traditional housewife and his grandfather was a celebrated scholar in Qing Dynasty. During the childhood, his grandfather instructed him to hold the brush practicing handwriting and he was also requested to read Analects of Confucius and Tang Poetry. Those reading and literacy experience had become the most primitive driving force for art later on. His father was a businessman and also fond of collecting antique calligraphy and paintings, in addition to an amateur painter of the western style. Two pieces of scroll by Chao Mong-Foo (AD 1254- 1322) and Mi Fu (AD 1051-1107) respectively were inevitably placed as heirloom when the family worship ancestor. Zao Wou- ki extremely esteems Mi Fu personally, and he praised him as one of the greatest artists in China and he once said: "He was the artist with other kind of vision to observe and he is a great calligrapher." Zao Wou-ki was later determined to apply for studying at Academy of Fine Arts, which was strongly supported and fully sponsored by his father. . His uncle was also good at art and often brought back western art postcards from Paris. Wou-ki was unconsciously influenced by art atmosphere of the family, as well as the encouragement and support of the older generation, which laid a good foundation for his development later on.
In 1935, 14-year-old Zao Wou-ki was smoothly admitted into Hangzhou National Academy of Art and he became the youngest students then. The principal, Lin Fengmian, had studied in France and Germany. Pan Tianshou taught Chinese painting and Wu Dayu instructed western painting, as the students of Hangzhou National Academy of Art must study both east and west paintings. But, Zao preferred west painting. Lin Fengmian and Wu Dayu had greatest affection on him and they completely allowed his concept of innovation. Art education in the academy inevitably had its limitation. His personal preference was the bright and lighthearted style of impressionist, and he diligently read a few foreign magazines at that time. He got to know the art of Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso. He gradually found the skill in painting, and considered that he himself was closer to the art of modern masters, rather than the traditional Chinese painting or the art style of European academy. In 1940s, he used his creative manner to accomplish landscape and portrait paintings. During his study at art academy, Sino-Japanese war was on. He studied in difficult conditions, fleeing and tramping always. Six years later, he graduated with distinction and stayed at the academy as a lecturer. He also held his irst solo exhibition in Chongqing. He was one of the youngest teachers at that time. Later, with the encouragement of Lin Fengmian, he and his wife went to France to study in 1948. Originally, he planned to study in France for two years only and he did not expect that he would have been living in Paris up till now.
Parisian poets and abstract art Zao Wou-ki initially settled at Montparnasse in Paris, as the neighbor of the sculptor, Giacometti de. Musée Louvre and Académie de la Grand Chaumière were his nutrient resource in the very beginning. In the second year of his stay in France, he was favored by Galerie Creuze in Paris and it enabled him to hold an exhibition, which was immediately successful. His name was well known. In the first three years in Paris, he had met many young artists, such as Hans Hartung, Nicolas de Stael, Pierre Soulages, Vieira de Silva, and later on, Sam Francis, Norman Bluhm from New York and Jean-Paul Riopelle from Canada. These artists are the mainstream of the European painters afterwards.
Zao Wou-ki began a serious study of the works created by western masters, and he secretly decided to abandon ink printing, which he was good at, to avoid becoming narrow-minded "chinoiserie". Once it happened, he produced a batch of lithograph with minimal use of colors and a great deal of water, due to the budget. These paintings were thought to be a failure by the studio host, but after he finished these works, these ink exaggerated paintings showing on the paper with Chinese affection were unexpectedly appreciated highly by Henri Michaux (1899-1984), the great poet, who wrote the poems as the description of these works and printed them for publication, which were favored by the most people. Zao Wou-ki's early works are mostly igurative landscape or portraits. He has never dreamed of the fact that his initial intention of avoiding the "chinoiserie" turned out to be his irst signiicant step on the European artistic stage. Henri Michaux pointed out that Zao Wou-ki's paintings were not "landscape", but "nature", and his assessment of the paintings pleased the artist mood. Through the introduction of Henri Michaux, Zao Wou- ki quickly entered the literary circles in Paris, and gradually tended toward the path of abstract expressionism painting.
"Abstract Expressionism", also known as "Non- Figurative", was a new form of mainstream art that lourished after the Second World War. Their beliefs lie in the use of form and color in an art form that wholly express the artist's concept of self. Starting from Kandinsky onwards, abstract art turned into an important art phenomenon during the mid twentieth century, while Expressionism, which began from the paintings of Cézanne and van Gogh, reemerged again during this time due to the impact of war. The two streams of art combined to form a trend that mesmerized New York. Despite the differences in style among the members, they still dominated in their own respective domains. Two groups emerged from the trends, one of which was "Action Paintings" such as the likes of Jackson Pollock, William de Kooning, Franz Kline and Philip Guston;
the other group was "Color Field Painting", represented by the likes of Mark Rothko, Kenneth Noland and Robert Motherwell. After the war, European art was also simultaneously inspired by the American art, initiating the artistic trend "l art informel" one the European continent at nearly the same time. Representative figures include Hans Hartung, Gérard Schneider, Pierre Soulages etc., and Zao Wou-ki in precise, was one of the members from this artistic trend, favorably known was the lyric abstract painter.Rediscover China
Zao Wou-ki once said: "Picasso taught us how to draw a Picasso, Cézanne taught me how to appreciate the essence of our Chinese paintings." He meant that the appreciation of Picasso's paintings couldn't get much room for inspiration, but for Cézanne, particularly when admiring the "Mont Sainte Victoire", "The undifferentiated hues between the mountains and the sky are strikingly similar to that in classical Chinese ink paintings." Zao Wou-ki thinks that travel is the best way to enrich the creativity. Chinese literati in the ancient time got the philosophy from visiting the mountains and rivers. Modern artists can naturally find the good materials to excite inspiration by visiting museum and sightseeing scenic spots around the world. In 1951, Zao Wou-ki traveled to Bern, Switzerland, and he discovered Paul Klee's paintings irst time in an exhibition. Paul Klee's paintings expressed the inner world by analogous calligraphic symbols, which fitted closed with the artist's mind. Inspired by Klee, who deeply influenced by Chinese calligraphy and Arabic text, Zao Wou-ki's paintings no longer show motionless objects, nor flowers exist. He has turned to an imaginable symbols and unreadable handwriting. Zao Wou-ki has found another level of western painting and entered the "poetical" free world.