ILLUSTRATED:
Gérard de Cortanze, Yves Bonnefy, Zao Wou-ki , La Difference / Enrico Navarra,
Paris, 1998, color illustrated, p. 146

ZAO WOU-KI'S "NATURAL WEATHER"

Zao Wou-ki's accomplishments within and outside the realms of painting are indisputable. He was honoured with the highest accolade given to an artist by the French government, by being elected to the Académie des arts et lettres in Paris. Whenever someone discusses Chinese or Western art history, it is hard not to come across Zao's name. As a forerunner in Abstraction Lyrique, his achievements in the art arena has garnered quite a following in later Chinese artists. Just as how art critic Philippe Dagen, from the French publication Le Monde, described Zao and his paintings - as a vagabond - the journey of this Chinese artist in the Western art scene has been an adventure.

In the spring of 1948, with a heartful of admiration for Paul Cézanne and Post-Impressionism, Zao left Shanghai on an ocean liner. He traced along the path of Western art form towards its origin, in a bid to learn and understand European art. During the time when he was in Paris, marvelling at the works of the great masters in the Louvre, Zao stayed at the Montparnasse - a favourite haunt of many literary and arts personnel. There, he became sculptor Giacometti's neighbor. Zao tried to establish himself in Paris - concurrently learning French and painting at La Grande Chaumière. In this artistic Mecca where artists from all over the world convened, Zao had the pleasure of being acquainted with some famous names, including Hans Hartung, Nicolas de Staël, Pierre Soulages, Vieira da Silva, and Jean-Paule Riopelle. With the help of writer Henri Michaux, Zao managed to progress into the heart of the Parisian art circle.

Zao once said: "Picasso taught us how to draw a Picasso, Cézanne taught me how to appreciate the essence of our Chinese paintings." In other words, when Zao looks at Picasso's paintings, he does not get inspired or enlightened. But looking at Cézanne, in particular "Mont Sainte Victoire" Zao claims: "The undifferentiated hues between the mountains and the sky are strikingly similar to that in classical Chinese ink paintings." He also believed that travelling is one of the best ways to recharge: While ancient Chinese literati seek to fathom philosophies from the mountains and valleys, modern artists naturally too, can turn to museums, diverse cultures, and various places of interest, for inspiration. Once, Zao discovered Paul Klee's paintings in an exhibition in Bern, Switzerland. Paul's works, very much influenced by Chinese art, struck a chord in Zao's heart. It brought Zao to a whole new level in Western art - a level of poetic significance. For instance, he used symbols and wavering lines to depict feelings of joy. He also got his inspiration from ancient Chinese hieroglyphics and characters, as he immersed himself in the lower rungs of self-fashioning. Subsequently, he abandoned the symbols and images altogether, leaving only an expansive space, not unlike that of magnificent mountains and the endless universe.

His copious creative energy brought Zao to yet another peak in the 1960s. By then, his paintings were already very well received in Europe and America. In an interview, Zao mentioned: "Everybody is tied up by one tradition, I am by two." Clearly, both traditional Chinese cultures and Western art have a concomitant effect on him. More than once, he talked about the influence Paris had on him - Paris made him a true artist. As his thoughts matured, Zao gradually rediscovered China. This was progressively being reflected in his paintings. Ironically, credit goes to Paris - because if not for his study trip to Europe, and if not for his exposure to the artistic hustles of Paris, Zao's art would not have been in the form that we see today. Without a doubt, his paintings amalgamate the essence of both Chinese and Western art. As Japanese art historian Shuji Takashina puts it, Zao Wou-ki has allied "the French way of feeling to the far eastern awareness of space".

7.12.69 was completed in 1969 - the pinnacle of Zao's creative career. By that time, his works were already widely acclaimed by contemporaries in the art scene. That summer, he held his second retrospective exhibition in Canada, first in Montreal's Musée d'Art contemporain, followed by Musée du Québec in Québec. To attend the opening, Zao took his second wife, May, on a trip across the American continent. This was perhaps the most memorable period in his life. In Canada, he visited his friend, painter Riopelle. Then, as Zao travelled down south to Mexico, Latin American artist Tamayo played host to him. 1969 was also the year when Belgian American art historian cum critic Pierre Schneider produced a documentary feature about Zao for the French national broadcaster ORTF.

For the period spanning 1960 to 1970, Zao channeled all his energy towards painting. As written in his autobiography, he took on these 10 years like a speeding Porsche. He was racing against time to present his newfound thoughts. Driven by love, he worked fervently. Looking back, he felt a sense of gratification and achievement, having advanced his works into the matured stage. In Zao's first catalogue raisonné written in French, author Jean Leymarie described the constant development of his art in the 1960s with respect to the use of contrast and harmony to portray rhythm, texture and colour modulation: sometimes Zao favours monochrome, and at times rich dark dyes of brown with streaks of black; other times the tone is opalescent and light, like silver grey brume. While other modulations include snow and sapphire, mousse and rubious sumptuous accords.

In his book Masters of Chinese Painting: Zao Wou-ki, renowned Taiwanese art historian Hsiao Chiung-jui analyses the characteristics of Zao's style in the 1960s: "Brown and yellow tones dominate in Zao's work from the 60s, colors emanating a bronze-golden glow that are applied across the canvas with vigorous abandon to form lines and shapes of both refined subtlety and keen intensity - filamentary and just a touch frantic in quality. These lines are assembled in a free fashion without any concern for motif or preconceived notions. Zao shakes off all formal restraints and follows his inner vision, thereby revealing a profound and rich imagination that fills his compositions with primal energy and creates a world where the most dazzling beauty bursts from a wasteland." Undoubtedly, these words also capture many of the qualities of "7.12.69".

His paintings exude a poetic calm akin to the vast universe. In the painting "7.12.69," detailed traces and generous splashes of oil contrast with each other in the profound space, and unhurriedly find their way in the midst of the bronze-golden glow, denoting another of Zao’s classics. As poet Wai-lim Yip so aptly describes: "Looking at Zao's painting is like standing alone at the edge of a stage, listening intensely to the orchestral performance by the luster and light." This illustrates the perfect setting for Du Fu's poem "I bare my breast towards opening clouds" as his barrel chest parts the incoming clouds.