Untitled

1980

Ink and color on silk

45.5 x 95 cm

Signed lower right Hsiao in English, Chin in Chinese and dated 80
With two seals of the artist

Estimate
130,000 - 200,000
526,000 - 810,000
16,800 - 25,800

Ravenel Spring Auction 2015 Hong Kong

010

HSIAO Chin (XIAO Qin) (Taiwanese, b. 1935)

Untitled


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Catalogue Note:
In 1980, Hsiao Chin was invited to Beijing and Shanghai for the 40th anniversary of the death of his father, Hsiao Yumei. This was the artist's first time returning to mainland China in 31 years. Created in 1980, "Untitled" was accomplished with the artist's wistful and complicated sentiment towards his hometown. Ever since he was a child, Hsiao has grown a particular interest in music. Unfortunately, his parents, who passed away early, did not develop his talent. Nevertheless, various incidents in life the rhythms in music, the retrospection of life and the eternal pursuit of art, have already born fruit in his paintings.

For the first time in 1961, Hsiao turned his artistic attention to the strokes of Chinese calligraphy. Submerging himself in Chinese ink wash for years, he created "Untitled" with masterly skills in 1980 in his forties, the age that Chinese believe to be free from perplexities.

Between the colors, the lines, and the shapes introduced by heavy strokes of ink lie pale, wrinkled, and rhythmic lines that seem to gently hover over the canvas. By embracing blank areas through reserved use of the ink, Hsiao coherently completed this work and directed the artistic conception to the state of Daoist Zen that moves and pauses both follow the will. The curves endlessly flow over the canvas while simultaneously acting as static boundaries that segment the space. Pink and gray-black lines appear to be the batons that lead viewers to enjoy a soundless music, and yet those lines can also be seen as countless streams of the Yangtze River that inhales and exhales innumerable water, pouring out the life course of men. During the first stage of Hsiao's artistic career, uncertainties filled the room between blank and fullness. However, in his late middle age, he has to learn to let go and find peace in mind.

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