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Lot Essay
Throughout his lifetime as an artist, Wu Guanzhong devoted himself to exploring how to meld the best of Eastern and Western painting techniques, in such a way that Chinese ink-wash and oil painting could become complementary mediums. For Wu Guanzhong, returning to the ink-wash medium meant using ink and paper as vehicles, but in the service of modern Western concepts of painting. With his innovative concepts and techniques in the areas of composition, colouring, and modeling of forms, he not only inherited the Chinese art of ink-wash painting, but pushed its development forward until it became something new, ink-wash painting "for the new era." In Windows of the East (Lot 16), each of the elements of the painting-ink, colour, brush, and water-becomes a free flowing medium leaving traces of abstract beauty on paper, through which Wu guides viewers toward his unique understanding of the meaning of formal beauty.
The spots of colour, and the continuous, winding lines that spread across the paper, are an expression of Wu Guanzhong's emotional attachment to the scenery of Jiangnan. The beauty of form in Windows of the East derives from the plain and beautiful simplicity of the window lattices that adorn the homes of Jiangnan. Jiangnan was the region Wu most loved throughout his life, and it was his place of birth; the abstract beauty of the architecture there, and the poetic, painterly beauty of the images he saw there were a great source of inspiration to him.
Through Wu Guangzhong's brush, the graceful and ingenious designs of these window lattices become a series of unbroken lines. The row upon row of geometrical figures creates, on one hand, a reflection to the rigorous and rational training in architecture that Wu received as a student at Qinghua University. At the same time, the outlines of these window lattices that he so carefully sets out, with lines both stiff and soft, also testify to the evolutionary process of Wu's art, as he sought to produce a kind of perfect and utterly natural abstraction. In his early abstract work, the artist built sketchy arrangements out of points and lines, expressing a personal way of utilizing and understanding these basic elements. The resulting tangle of lines, whether light or heavy, were nothing less than the tracings of his inner feelings and state of consciousness. In Window of the East, however, the clear edges and corners of these latticework lines are employed to depict a specific physical object. But, as in the comment by Chinese painter Shi Tao, "The sky becomes sea, and sea becomes sky," Wu breaks down the divisions between figurative and abstract painting. Viewing this abstract work, we still see hints of concrete images, yet any concrete image we see opens up further unlimited possibilities. In Window of the East, Wu elevates the art of abstract painting to its highest possible realm.
Colour is the keyboard. The eye is then hammer. The soul is the piano, with its many strings. Vibrations of colour directly cause corresponding vibrations in the soul of the attuned viewer. - Wassily Kandinsky
Small blocked-out shapes of red, yellow, orange, and green, like the "moss dots" in ancient Chinese painting, wander amid interwoven lines in appropriately chosen dark and light shades. Wu's lines, like the lines of a musical score, tie these skipping "notes" together. The artist injected his paintings with the same inspiration and intense feelings as music. The visual rhythms with which he expressed these feelings recall the comments of Wassily Kandinsky, a master of abstract art, regarding what inspired his own unique use of colour. For Wu Guanzhong to compose a work with these elegant rhythms and cadences, from the depth of his own sincere feeling, is like hearing an ancient Jiangnan melody filled with the energy and life of the region. The brilliantly coloured "moss dots" in this painting help deepen what would otherwise be its two-dimensional space, until it becomes a vast field for our imagination. The harmonious effect built up by the combination of these flashing, multi-coloured dots and lines in ink imbue Window of the East with the same lively character found in traditional Chinese ink-wash painting. The more diffuse lines of the painting, formed with pale washes of ink, add a sense of the misty rain that drifts through the Jiangnan region and its hazy beauty. These diffuses washes of ink, practically dripping with water, also embody a feeling for the damp climate of the region.
Wu took the constituent principles of Western abstract painting, based on points, lines, planes, and blocks of colour, and made them part of his innovative approach to ink-wash painting. He further broke through the typical ink and brush conventions of traditional painting and calligraphy by applying the formal logic of Abstract Expressionism: his lines move in a free but ordered fashion to propel the work forward, giving it both rhythm and flowing beauty. The way that Wu was able to move beyond objective portrayal of his subjects helped develop an even more direct style of expression and an even livelier character; in some respects it paralleled the Western abstract style called Action Painting. In that style, artists give vent to inner, uninhibited feelings and moods through free and even reckless movements of their brushes. Wu Guanzhong on the one hand takes advantage of the colours he distributes across the surface to evoke his own emotional attachment to the scenery of Jiangnan. At the same time, his interpretation of "formal beauty" through action painting conveys to the viewer a deep humanistic impulse, as well as the breathtaking artistic conception that is exuded by every part of the work. But Wu took action painting one step further, and the dots of colour in Windows of the East even surpass it one sense. Wu uses his painting implements to spontaneously scatter "moss dots" through the painting like the spray of shallow waves breaking on rocks. These dots benefit his portrayal of his subject but without calling undue attention to themselves. Scattered in varying sizes across the painting, the create a feeling of visual penetration and successive layers of space, providing a sense of limitless depth to entice the viewer's gaze.
Window of the East represents a marriage of Eastern and Western art. Wu Guanzhong employed visual forms and motifs derived from his own life, which he then refined even further. By using these simplified and purified forms, structures, and colours, he gave expression to the multitude of changes possible in lines and colours, and through them, his art embodied a personal sense of his love for life. The large dimensions of this painting provide ample space for viewers' imaginations and invite them to enter a separate aesthetic realm. Through the latticework of this painting, viewers attain glimpses of the amazing and abundant world outside, freeing their hearts and minds and granting them a taste of the beauty of life. The structural beauty of Windows of the East, with its harmonious cadences and rhythms, provides one of the finest examples of Wu Guanzhong's matchless pursuit of formal beauty.
The spots of colour, and the continuous, winding lines that spread across the paper, are an expression of Wu Guanzhong's emotional attachment to the scenery of Jiangnan. The beauty of form in Windows of the East derives from the plain and beautiful simplicity of the window lattices that adorn the homes of Jiangnan. Jiangnan was the region Wu most loved throughout his life, and it was his place of birth; the abstract beauty of the architecture there, and the poetic, painterly beauty of the images he saw there were a great source of inspiration to him.
Through Wu Guangzhong's brush, the graceful and ingenious designs of these window lattices become a series of unbroken lines. The row upon row of geometrical figures creates, on one hand, a reflection to the rigorous and rational training in architecture that Wu received as a student at Qinghua University. At the same time, the outlines of these window lattices that he so carefully sets out, with lines both stiff and soft, also testify to the evolutionary process of Wu's art, as he sought to produce a kind of perfect and utterly natural abstraction. In his early abstract work, the artist built sketchy arrangements out of points and lines, expressing a personal way of utilizing and understanding these basic elements. The resulting tangle of lines, whether light or heavy, were nothing less than the tracings of his inner feelings and state of consciousness. In Window of the East, however, the clear edges and corners of these latticework lines are employed to depict a specific physical object. But, as in the comment by Chinese painter Shi Tao, "The sky becomes sea, and sea becomes sky," Wu breaks down the divisions between figurative and abstract painting. Viewing this abstract work, we still see hints of concrete images, yet any concrete image we see opens up further unlimited possibilities. In Window of the East, Wu elevates the art of abstract painting to its highest possible realm.
Colour is the keyboard. The eye is then hammer. The soul is the piano, with its many strings. Vibrations of colour directly cause corresponding vibrations in the soul of the attuned viewer. - Wassily Kandinsky
Small blocked-out shapes of red, yellow, orange, and green, like the "moss dots" in ancient Chinese painting, wander amid interwoven lines in appropriately chosen dark and light shades. Wu's lines, like the lines of a musical score, tie these skipping "notes" together. The artist injected his paintings with the same inspiration and intense feelings as music. The visual rhythms with which he expressed these feelings recall the comments of Wassily Kandinsky, a master of abstract art, regarding what inspired his own unique use of colour. For Wu Guanzhong to compose a work with these elegant rhythms and cadences, from the depth of his own sincere feeling, is like hearing an ancient Jiangnan melody filled with the energy and life of the region. The brilliantly coloured "moss dots" in this painting help deepen what would otherwise be its two-dimensional space, until it becomes a vast field for our imagination. The harmonious effect built up by the combination of these flashing, multi-coloured dots and lines in ink imbue Window of the East with the same lively character found in traditional Chinese ink-wash painting. The more diffuse lines of the painting, formed with pale washes of ink, add a sense of the misty rain that drifts through the Jiangnan region and its hazy beauty. These diffuses washes of ink, practically dripping with water, also embody a feeling for the damp climate of the region.
Wu took the constituent principles of Western abstract painting, based on points, lines, planes, and blocks of colour, and made them part of his innovative approach to ink-wash painting. He further broke through the typical ink and brush conventions of traditional painting and calligraphy by applying the formal logic of Abstract Expressionism: his lines move in a free but ordered fashion to propel the work forward, giving it both rhythm and flowing beauty. The way that Wu was able to move beyond objective portrayal of his subjects helped develop an even more direct style of expression and an even livelier character; in some respects it paralleled the Western abstract style called Action Painting. In that style, artists give vent to inner, uninhibited feelings and moods through free and even reckless movements of their brushes. Wu Guanzhong on the one hand takes advantage of the colours he distributes across the surface to evoke his own emotional attachment to the scenery of Jiangnan. At the same time, his interpretation of "formal beauty" through action painting conveys to the viewer a deep humanistic impulse, as well as the breathtaking artistic conception that is exuded by every part of the work. But Wu took action painting one step further, and the dots of colour in Windows of the East even surpass it one sense. Wu uses his painting implements to spontaneously scatter "moss dots" through the painting like the spray of shallow waves breaking on rocks. These dots benefit his portrayal of his subject but without calling undue attention to themselves. Scattered in varying sizes across the painting, the create a feeling of visual penetration and successive layers of space, providing a sense of limitless depth to entice the viewer's gaze.
Window of the East represents a marriage of Eastern and Western art. Wu Guanzhong employed visual forms and motifs derived from his own life, which he then refined even further. By using these simplified and purified forms, structures, and colours, he gave expression to the multitude of changes possible in lines and colours, and through them, his art embodied a personal sense of his love for life. The large dimensions of this painting provide ample space for viewers' imaginations and invite them to enter a separate aesthetic realm. Through the latticework of this painting, viewers attain glimpses of the amazing and abundant world outside, freeing their hearts and minds and granting them a taste of the beauty of life. The structural beauty of Windows of the East, with its harmonious cadences and rhythms, provides one of the finest examples of Wu Guanzhong's matchless pursuit of formal beauty.