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Lot Essay
Born in 1910, Chao Chung-Hsiang was from a scholar-gentry family in Henan, China. Influenced by Sinology and Taoism doctrine, Chao had developed high attainments in calligraphy and Chinese ink painting since childhood. Chao Chung-Hsiang later studied at Hangzhou National Academy of Art alongside Zao Wou-Ki, Chu Teh-Chun and Wu Guanzhong under the tutelage of Lin Fengmian, who was often recognized as the founding father of the artistic branch which applies impressionist philosophy and techniques onto Chinese ink painting (Fig. 1) Since then, Chao Chung-Hsiang began his exploration of the fusion between Chinese and Western painting styles. In 1958, abstract expressionism was at the peak of its maturity in the American art world, while Chao Chung-Hsiang, with his vision of creating an artistic style that would combine the humanism of traditional Chinese art with the philosophy of modern Western art, arrived to New York City on his own. In the following thirty-odd years, Chao Chung-Hsiang would continue to engage a dialogue between the East and West, pitting symbolic Eastern elements against Western philosophy, which would eventually develop into a signature painting branch.
The work Abstraction (Lot 400) was executed in 1962. By this time, Chao had befriended the first generation of the school of abstract expressionism, including Franz Klein, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning in the metropolitan city of New York. In the meantime, many abstract expressionist pioneers had been moving away from figurative imagery towards pure abstraction. (Fig.2) With his profound skill base and keen artistic sensibilities, Chao Chung-Hsiang had quickly adopted the gestural presentation and aggressive paint handling, and developed a unique representation of the Chinese ink tradition within the confines of abstract expressionism. As evidenced in Abstraction, the medium is oil; yet, on its large-scale canvas, many Chinese ink painting techniques such as nóng dàn thick and light shades), pō pò (splashed ink and broken ink) and kū rùn (dry and wet brushes), which were often employed to rectify the tension of brush stroke, were utilised to replace the lines and fields that often serve to contextualize in abstract expressionist style. Progressions of action painting are also visible in Abstraction. Drips that appear occasionally throughout the painting along with the broad but abrupt strokes promoted a sense of dynamic incompletion, as if the flow of creating was still in the process of settling and coming into definition. In terms of the colour scheme, Chao had practised a palette of hues that is inspired by Fauvism and Surrealism onto Abstraction. A variety of pure colours with unfamiliar combinations have been incorporated on the canvas through liberated executions of brushstroke. The irregular weights, configurations and levels of shading have created an intense sensation on the work. Chao further applied alighted ink-like austere black strokes on the very top layer of paint, strikingly and vigorously. Through the intriguing order of colours, one could speculates Chao's attachment to the Chinese humanism painting traditions while pursuing the impromptu in abstract expressionism.
During this period, Chao Chung-Hsiang's paintings were dignified, bold and unrestrained. It was also the only period in his artistic career when he created works with only oil and canvases. Being the representative masterpiece of this time period, Abstraction bears witness to Chao Chung-Hsiang's exploration of fusing the Chinese and Western style dichotomy and the born of a new aesthetical philosophy of art.
In the following twenty years, Chao Chung-Hsiang was increasingly influenced by the New York School artists: he started to incorporate the circular colour spectrum into the core of his artworks while abstracting Chinese traditional symbols and motifs into a fusion of artistic languages. (Fig.3) The work, A Bird Family Under the Blessed Shade (Lot 401) , is one of the most representative examples of this series of work. The symbol of yin and yang (Taiji) was situated on top of the work while its illuminating glow shines likes that of the sun and moon. The coloured brushstrokes extend dynamically from the center outwards, symbolising that of completeness, harmony and eternity. Under the luminous sun of Taiji, Chao Chung-Hsiang depicted a scene of a family of birds resting under the shade of a bamboo forest in ink painting. The presented tranquility and modesty directly contrast with the brightness and vigor of the sunbeam. It is with this intense disparity of the exuberant colours that manifests Chao Chung-Hsiang's mastery of balance, as he negotiates the subtle differences in brush strokes, the spirituality of symbols, and the antithesis between ink and paint. This work not only highlights the artist's impeccable skill in ink painting but also his response to the immediate circumstances within the movement of Western modern art.
The work Abstraction (Lot 400) was executed in 1962. By this time, Chao had befriended the first generation of the school of abstract expressionism, including Franz Klein, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning in the metropolitan city of New York. In the meantime, many abstract expressionist pioneers had been moving away from figurative imagery towards pure abstraction. (Fig.2) With his profound skill base and keen artistic sensibilities, Chao Chung-Hsiang had quickly adopted the gestural presentation and aggressive paint handling, and developed a unique representation of the Chinese ink tradition within the confines of abstract expressionism. As evidenced in Abstraction, the medium is oil; yet, on its large-scale canvas, many Chinese ink painting techniques such as nóng dàn thick and light shades), pō pò (splashed ink and broken ink) and kū rùn (dry and wet brushes), which were often employed to rectify the tension of brush stroke, were utilised to replace the lines and fields that often serve to contextualize in abstract expressionist style. Progressions of action painting are also visible in Abstraction. Drips that appear occasionally throughout the painting along with the broad but abrupt strokes promoted a sense of dynamic incompletion, as if the flow of creating was still in the process of settling and coming into definition. In terms of the colour scheme, Chao had practised a palette of hues that is inspired by Fauvism and Surrealism onto Abstraction. A variety of pure colours with unfamiliar combinations have been incorporated on the canvas through liberated executions of brushstroke. The irregular weights, configurations and levels of shading have created an intense sensation on the work. Chao further applied alighted ink-like austere black strokes on the very top layer of paint, strikingly and vigorously. Through the intriguing order of colours, one could speculates Chao's attachment to the Chinese humanism painting traditions while pursuing the impromptu in abstract expressionism.
During this period, Chao Chung-Hsiang's paintings were dignified, bold and unrestrained. It was also the only period in his artistic career when he created works with only oil and canvases. Being the representative masterpiece of this time period, Abstraction bears witness to Chao Chung-Hsiang's exploration of fusing the Chinese and Western style dichotomy and the born of a new aesthetical philosophy of art.
In the following twenty years, Chao Chung-Hsiang was increasingly influenced by the New York School artists: he started to incorporate the circular colour spectrum into the core of his artworks while abstracting Chinese traditional symbols and motifs into a fusion of artistic languages. (Fig.3) The work, A Bird Family Under the Blessed Shade (Lot 401) , is one of the most representative examples of this series of work. The symbol of yin and yang (Taiji) was situated on top of the work while its illuminating glow shines likes that of the sun and moon. The coloured brushstrokes extend dynamically from the center outwards, symbolising that of completeness, harmony and eternity. Under the luminous sun of Taiji, Chao Chung-Hsiang depicted a scene of a family of birds resting under the shade of a bamboo forest in ink painting. The presented tranquility and modesty directly contrast with the brightness and vigor of the sunbeam. It is with this intense disparity of the exuberant colours that manifests Chao Chung-Hsiang's mastery of balance, as he negotiates the subtle differences in brush strokes, the spirituality of symbols, and the antithesis between ink and paint. This work not only highlights the artist's impeccable skill in ink painting but also his response to the immediate circumstances within the movement of Western modern art.