.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Shortly after Zao Wou-Ki arrived in Paris in 1948, he became friends with such abstract artists as Joan Miro, Hans Hartung, Pierre Soulages and Vieira de Silva. Poets and sculptors, including Alberto Giacometti and Mary Callery, were also among his friends. 14.08.59 (Lot 9) was a gift to Callery from Zao, and has remained in private collection until 2009.
Between 1954 and 1957 Zao developed his artistic style into full abstraction, basing his works on a series of Chinese pictograms, bones used in divination or symbols carved on bronze vessels. After a trip to New York in 1957, he started to work on larger pieces with only the date of creation as titles. The late 1950s saw a significant transition in Zao's artistic development and he reached the first peak of his creativity. During this period, he returned to tradition, reshaping his works with concepts of the universe and art from ancient Chinese culture.
Zao began to observe objects from a different perspective, striving to portray the invisible/intangible forces in life. A new stage in his creativity saw the extension of his palette and colour blends, combined with use of the lines and symbols in calligraphy, oracle bone scripts and sculpture. 14.08.59 is representative of this period. The divide in the middle is thin and delicate, with short, transient strokes, like moves, turns and crochets and orders in Chinese calligraphy. Oracle bone scripts and stone carvings show the unique beauty of winding lines carrying changes. Lines mix, break, merge, dance to build varying rhythm and visual tension symbolising the boundless power of life. The work also bears witness to Zao's delicate application of oil paints. The greyish-white background combined with the mix and match of inky-black strokes, both bold and thin, convey twisting and changing movement resembling that present in Chinese landscape paintings.
While striking lines take the central part, they only occupy one-fourth of the piece. The empty part shows Zao's testing of techniques in the application of oil paints. Zao said: 'I appreciated Mi Fu's and Ni Zan's manipulation of space. A lot of my works may look blank, but I paid even more effort on those areas, as oil paints are not as easily diffused as ink is. In Chinese paintings, the tangible and intangible build rhythm and push each other to cast weight appropriately in the piece. This presentation inspired me on how I handle space. Perhaps this explains the only difference between my work and those of our Western counterparts.' The grey, greyish white and greyish blue in 14.08.59 mix while remaining reserved, giving the work a historical sense. Oil paint leads in its density and richness, but its intensity causes difficulty in delivering countless variations in thickness and thus visual beauty. Zao journeys through this difficulty with ease. His double identity and aesthetic roots provide a perfect solution to the limitations of respective artistic traditions. When a single colour varies in thickness to carry different weights, an additional stroke brings changes - it blends with, strengthens or contrasts with colours already on set. Zao successfully builds a connection among colours. 'Colours and lines application are always interrelated,' Zao said in a lecture at the Hangzhou School of Fine Art in 1985. 'Individual stroke varies in degree of thickness and temperature to bring a collective visual appreciation.' Zao's unique techniques contribute to a visual dialogue and personal style that outshine many of his Western counterparts.
Between 1954 and 1957 Zao developed his artistic style into full abstraction, basing his works on a series of Chinese pictograms, bones used in divination or symbols carved on bronze vessels. After a trip to New York in 1957, he started to work on larger pieces with only the date of creation as titles. The late 1950s saw a significant transition in Zao's artistic development and he reached the first peak of his creativity. During this period, he returned to tradition, reshaping his works with concepts of the universe and art from ancient Chinese culture.
Zao began to observe objects from a different perspective, striving to portray the invisible/intangible forces in life. A new stage in his creativity saw the extension of his palette and colour blends, combined with use of the lines and symbols in calligraphy, oracle bone scripts and sculpture. 14.08.59 is representative of this period. The divide in the middle is thin and delicate, with short, transient strokes, like moves, turns and crochets and orders in Chinese calligraphy. Oracle bone scripts and stone carvings show the unique beauty of winding lines carrying changes. Lines mix, break, merge, dance to build varying rhythm and visual tension symbolising the boundless power of life. The work also bears witness to Zao's delicate application of oil paints. The greyish-white background combined with the mix and match of inky-black strokes, both bold and thin, convey twisting and changing movement resembling that present in Chinese landscape paintings.
While striking lines take the central part, they only occupy one-fourth of the piece. The empty part shows Zao's testing of techniques in the application of oil paints. Zao said: 'I appreciated Mi Fu's and Ni Zan's manipulation of space. A lot of my works may look blank, but I paid even more effort on those areas, as oil paints are not as easily diffused as ink is. In Chinese paintings, the tangible and intangible build rhythm and push each other to cast weight appropriately in the piece. This presentation inspired me on how I handle space. Perhaps this explains the only difference between my work and those of our Western counterparts.' The grey, greyish white and greyish blue in 14.08.59 mix while remaining reserved, giving the work a historical sense. Oil paint leads in its density and richness, but its intensity causes difficulty in delivering countless variations in thickness and thus visual beauty. Zao journeys through this difficulty with ease. His double identity and aesthetic roots provide a perfect solution to the limitations of respective artistic traditions. When a single colour varies in thickness to carry different weights, an additional stroke brings changes - it blends with, strengthens or contrasts with colours already on set. Zao successfully builds a connection among colours. 'Colours and lines application are always interrelated,' Zao said in a lecture at the Hangzhou School of Fine Art in 1985. 'Individual stroke varies in degree of thickness and temperature to bring a collective visual appreciation.' Zao's unique techniques contribute to a visual dialogue and personal style that outshine many of his Western counterparts.