PRINTPROVENANCE:
Sotheby's London, February 16, 2012, lot 00229.
Sotheby's London, February 16, 2012, lot 00229.
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Juin 2005
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2005 Oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm Signed lower right Wou-ki in Chinese, ZAO in French and |
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Estimate
3,800,000 - 5,500,000 16,102,000 - 23,305,000 490,300 - 709,700
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Catalogue Note:
THE ETHEREAL BEAUTY OF LYRICAL ABSTRACTION
AN IRREVERSIBLE NEW STAGE HAS NOW BEGUN, I WANTED TO PAINT WHAT I COULD NOT SEE, THE BREATH OF
LIFE, THE WIND, THE MOVEMENT OF ENERGY, THE LIFE FORCE OF FORM, THE UNFOLDING AND MERGING OF
COLOR AND THEIR FUSION.
– ZAO WOU-KI
"Juin 2005" constitutes a testament to Zao's ability in transpiring his inner sense of nature into a dreamy imagery of meditative abstraction through a tranquil juxtaposition of fullness and emptiness, movement and rest. The grandeur of the present lot is heightened by sweeping strokes of blackish grey at the heart of an effervescent middle, disseminating into further frenzied short, vibrating multi-directional lines in monochromatic tones of black and grey underneath a sumptuous airy blue emerging from the upper right as it envelopes and blends in seamlessly with the pearly white field on the left. Zao introduces areas of light and space with a colored field of sumptuous blue, creating a powerful pictorial mass of color with a fluidity that is as much of the sky. By extension, the light in turn serves the essential role of illuminating an internal luminosity that treats light as an expression of an interior energy, defining and extenuating the subtle significance of each beautifully executed line that attribute to a larger image that is hardly visible yet momentarily perceptible at times. The composition is further imbued with flowing delicate taupe strokes on the foreground that hint at an imagery as these lines cascades down in the vertical composition like the whispering wind or a whirling breath of air over a pictorial scene of nature in the distant, one of mountainous scape under the nourishment of the crisp morning sky that evokes the iridescence tone of the mother of pearl, gradually expanding into the infiniteness of the universe, impalpable but nonetheless solid. In essence, the present lot constitute a poetic transcriptions of Zao's inner reality, whether it be real or dreamed, it is infused with rhythm, harmony and melody. Zao's rhythmic and lyrical brush strokes reflect a strong sense of musicality stemming from his appreciation for the Mozart's arias, where each brushstroke corresponds to the next much like a note or a sound would in a harmonious musical tonality, allowing endless permutations and possibilities to be constructed. The present lot is a painting of ethereal beauty and romanticism that echo the vibrancy of life, perhaps resonating precisely with Zao's more settled lifestyle after years of cultural assimilation in France.
In retrospect, Zao demonstrated a tendency to differ from his contemporaries early on when he exhibited works by Lin Fengmian, Wa Tayu, as well as some of his own among other living artists whom he thought had ventured beyond the traditional realms at the National Museum of Natural History upon his graduated from the renowned National Academy of Art in Hangzhou. This dedication to revamp a new contemporary Chinese art lead to his departure to Paris in 1948, where he settled into a little studio in the Rue de Moulin-Vert. Zao visited Switzerland for the first time and discovered the paintings of Paul Klee at the museums in Bern and Geneva in 1951, where he strongly identifies with the work of Klee as it resonated with his own aesthetic principles and sensitivity. This encounter marked his progressive initial return to his origins as evidenced in some of Zao's work in the 50s. The evolution of Zao's ample oeuvre continue to take its shape continuous, his full commitment to abstraction followed after his extended stay in the United States where he encountered abstract expressionism first handed at the height of its prestige. Crucially, Zao devoted and committed himself under the inspiration of this new stylistic direction and continued to seek reverence in painting his inner realities through means of abstraction and the non-figurative.
He subsequently picked up the ink brush after the devastating lost of his beloved second wife, May, one can imagine how such therapeutic practice would allow all the cultural legacy mounted unconsciously to be expressed from the inmost depths of his soul. Zao Wou-ki pursued audaciously and explored new compositions, rhythms, and ways of expressing himself through synthesizing qualities from both the Eastern and Western traditions. Areas of void in the present lot remains soft, light and diluted, free from confining edges that weaves into the sparkling limpidity of the colors and the lyrical flow of the rolling mists in the foreground. This primordial void can be attributed to a fundamental influence of Zao's Chinese heritage, the void of ancient Chinese philosophical and artistic conceptions reminiscent of the expressive charm of the free brush Xieyi style of the Song Dynasty artists, which predicates upon the balancing of voids and solids indicative of an infinite space which allows the imagination of the spectator to manifest. In particular, the importance of the concept of void had been instilled in Zao since a very young age, when his father tried to show him the beauty in Chinese works of art that were within their reach at the time. In the words of Tao Teking in his reference to the fundamental notion of Chinese philosophy regarding emptiness, he stipulated that "Clay is modeled to make vessels, but their use depends upon the empty space inside." Zao Wou-ki has acted as a bridge between two cultures, as a link that authenticates both the survival of a tradition that is fresh, powerful and unforced. In essence, Zao artistic oeuvre is characterized by a constant process of exploration, absorption, and integration. The composition of "Juin 2005" hovers between nature and abstraction, once in awhile slipping over the edge into the reminiscence of a Chinese landscape schema, yet simultaneously in his compositional structure, spatial arrangement or color treatment integrated key elements of Western painting atheistic hidden behind the profound empty spaces and rich profusion of brushed forms. "Juin 2005" remains an exemplary reconciliation of Chinese and European aesthetics, as it testifies to a deeply private emotional typography of Zao that is reflective of a duel cultural heritage.
AN IRREVERSIBLE NEW STAGE HAS NOW BEGUN, I WANTED TO PAINT WHAT I COULD NOT SEE, THE BREATH OF
LIFE, THE WIND, THE MOVEMENT OF ENERGY, THE LIFE FORCE OF FORM, THE UNFOLDING AND MERGING OF
COLOR AND THEIR FUSION.
– ZAO WOU-KI
"Juin 2005" constitutes a testament to Zao's ability in transpiring his inner sense of nature into a dreamy imagery of meditative abstraction through a tranquil juxtaposition of fullness and emptiness, movement and rest. The grandeur of the present lot is heightened by sweeping strokes of blackish grey at the heart of an effervescent middle, disseminating into further frenzied short, vibrating multi-directional lines in monochromatic tones of black and grey underneath a sumptuous airy blue emerging from the upper right as it envelopes and blends in seamlessly with the pearly white field on the left. Zao introduces areas of light and space with a colored field of sumptuous blue, creating a powerful pictorial mass of color with a fluidity that is as much of the sky. By extension, the light in turn serves the essential role of illuminating an internal luminosity that treats light as an expression of an interior energy, defining and extenuating the subtle significance of each beautifully executed line that attribute to a larger image that is hardly visible yet momentarily perceptible at times. The composition is further imbued with flowing delicate taupe strokes on the foreground that hint at an imagery as these lines cascades down in the vertical composition like the whispering wind or a whirling breath of air over a pictorial scene of nature in the distant, one of mountainous scape under the nourishment of the crisp morning sky that evokes the iridescence tone of the mother of pearl, gradually expanding into the infiniteness of the universe, impalpable but nonetheless solid. In essence, the present lot constitute a poetic transcriptions of Zao's inner reality, whether it be real or dreamed, it is infused with rhythm, harmony and melody. Zao's rhythmic and lyrical brush strokes reflect a strong sense of musicality stemming from his appreciation for the Mozart's arias, where each brushstroke corresponds to the next much like a note or a sound would in a harmonious musical tonality, allowing endless permutations and possibilities to be constructed. The present lot is a painting of ethereal beauty and romanticism that echo the vibrancy of life, perhaps resonating precisely with Zao's more settled lifestyle after years of cultural assimilation in France.
In retrospect, Zao demonstrated a tendency to differ from his contemporaries early on when he exhibited works by Lin Fengmian, Wa Tayu, as well as some of his own among other living artists whom he thought had ventured beyond the traditional realms at the National Museum of Natural History upon his graduated from the renowned National Academy of Art in Hangzhou. This dedication to revamp a new contemporary Chinese art lead to his departure to Paris in 1948, where he settled into a little studio in the Rue de Moulin-Vert. Zao visited Switzerland for the first time and discovered the paintings of Paul Klee at the museums in Bern and Geneva in 1951, where he strongly identifies with the work of Klee as it resonated with his own aesthetic principles and sensitivity. This encounter marked his progressive initial return to his origins as evidenced in some of Zao's work in the 50s. The evolution of Zao's ample oeuvre continue to take its shape continuous, his full commitment to abstraction followed after his extended stay in the United States where he encountered abstract expressionism first handed at the height of its prestige. Crucially, Zao devoted and committed himself under the inspiration of this new stylistic direction and continued to seek reverence in painting his inner realities through means of abstraction and the non-figurative.
He subsequently picked up the ink brush after the devastating lost of his beloved second wife, May, one can imagine how such therapeutic practice would allow all the cultural legacy mounted unconsciously to be expressed from the inmost depths of his soul. Zao Wou-ki pursued audaciously and explored new compositions, rhythms, and ways of expressing himself through synthesizing qualities from both the Eastern and Western traditions. Areas of void in the present lot remains soft, light and diluted, free from confining edges that weaves into the sparkling limpidity of the colors and the lyrical flow of the rolling mists in the foreground. This primordial void can be attributed to a fundamental influence of Zao's Chinese heritage, the void of ancient Chinese philosophical and artistic conceptions reminiscent of the expressive charm of the free brush Xieyi style of the Song Dynasty artists, which predicates upon the balancing of voids and solids indicative of an infinite space which allows the imagination of the spectator to manifest. In particular, the importance of the concept of void had been instilled in Zao since a very young age, when his father tried to show him the beauty in Chinese works of art that were within their reach at the time. In the words of Tao Teking in his reference to the fundamental notion of Chinese philosophy regarding emptiness, he stipulated that "Clay is modeled to make vessels, but their use depends upon the empty space inside." Zao Wou-ki has acted as a bridge between two cultures, as a link that authenticates both the survival of a tradition that is fresh, powerful and unforced. In essence, Zao artistic oeuvre is characterized by a constant process of exploration, absorption, and integration. The composition of "Juin 2005" hovers between nature and abstraction, once in awhile slipping over the edge into the reminiscence of a Chinese landscape schema, yet simultaneously in his compositional structure, spatial arrangement or color treatment integrated key elements of Western painting atheistic hidden behind the profound empty spaces and rich profusion of brushed forms. "Juin 2005" remains an exemplary reconciliation of Chinese and European aesthetics, as it testifies to a deeply private emotional typography of Zao that is reflective of a duel cultural heritage.