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Lot Essay
Ink wash paintings have been a constant part of Zao Wou-Ki's career, and his relationship with them is profound and extensive. When he first arrived in Paris in 1948, he did not want to be typecast as a "Chinese-influenced" artist, so he temporarily stepped away from ink wash works until 1971, when he returned to China and also the art form. In that period he found tranquillity and rekindled a new creative passion for ink wash pieces, and rediscovered his desire to paint.
Untitled (Lot 458) was painted in 1979, a few years after he resumed painting ink wash works, and reveals his practiced mastery, incorporating Western media into Eastern sentiments. Each hatch, crosshatch, brush, wash, scumbling, and stippling fill the lower part of the canvas, which might be chaotic and overwhelming, but the translucent black takes away just enough of that to maintain clarity. Untitled features layered crosshatching of mustard yellow, sapphire blue, and a pastel orange-brown in small strokes and bold brushes to develop tension in the lower parts of the scene, and that lower part is filled with strength. In the mid-section the artist's wrist can be seen to relax, and throughout the rest of the piece the lines are unbridled and free, not unlike the depiction of rugged old trees in Kuo Hsi's Old Trees, Level Distance – each stroke demonstrate their uniqueness without creating confusion, showing off their brilliance without detracting from each other, creating structure and order that is pleasing to the eye.
Untitled gives viewers a glimpse of how Zao uses Chinese calligraphy and painting techniques with watercolours, boldly and deftly, perfectly showcasing the unique aesthetics of "layered diffusion" and "colours through monochrome" in traditional Chinese ink wash
paintings. The work relies on its primary colour – the varying shades of yellow – to set the overall tone and rhythm, then the touches of black and blue are used to add depth and layers to the painting. The effect of the diffusion is a sense of ancient somberness as well as fluidity, calling to mind the beauty in Herd of Deer in a Maple Grove by an anonymous Five Dynasties era artist, and fully showing Zao's control over the paintbrush and skillfulness with Chinese calligraphic techniques. This impression of limitless layers created with simple colours reminds one of Joseph Turner's Lausanne From the West , which uses simple watercolours to construct a peaceful landscape. Zao first used watercolour to trace outlines, and followed up with casual freehand diffusion, to create a scene that is tranquil and expansive in equal measure. This ephemerality originating from the 70s opened up and enabled the artist's sense of "vacantness" in his works, using the Western watercolour medium to construct a fusion of East-West aesthetics.
The artist's proficiency and control in calligraphy and painting was developed over decades of practice, the works in this auction span across the 50s to the 70s, and are testaments to his growth. From the age of five, he would colour and doodle on works in art albums and the family china; as early as then, he instinctively resisted the bondage of the orthodoxy in painting or calligraphy, and just wanted to paint freely, on medium beyond paper, tracing "meaningless" lines. This self-initiated pursuit of a new style only intensified after his arrival to Paris.
Untitled (Lot 458) was painted in 1979, a few years after he resumed painting ink wash works, and reveals his practiced mastery, incorporating Western media into Eastern sentiments. Each hatch, crosshatch, brush, wash, scumbling, and stippling fill the lower part of the canvas, which might be chaotic and overwhelming, but the translucent black takes away just enough of that to maintain clarity. Untitled features layered crosshatching of mustard yellow, sapphire blue, and a pastel orange-brown in small strokes and bold brushes to develop tension in the lower parts of the scene, and that lower part is filled with strength. In the mid-section the artist's wrist can be seen to relax, and throughout the rest of the piece the lines are unbridled and free, not unlike the depiction of rugged old trees in Kuo Hsi's Old Trees, Level Distance – each stroke demonstrate their uniqueness without creating confusion, showing off their brilliance without detracting from each other, creating structure and order that is pleasing to the eye.
Untitled gives viewers a glimpse of how Zao uses Chinese calligraphy and painting techniques with watercolours, boldly and deftly, perfectly showcasing the unique aesthetics of "layered diffusion" and "colours through monochrome" in traditional Chinese ink wash
paintings. The work relies on its primary colour – the varying shades of yellow – to set the overall tone and rhythm, then the touches of black and blue are used to add depth and layers to the painting. The effect of the diffusion is a sense of ancient somberness as well as fluidity, calling to mind the beauty in Herd of Deer in a Maple Grove by an anonymous Five Dynasties era artist, and fully showing Zao's control over the paintbrush and skillfulness with Chinese calligraphic techniques. This impression of limitless layers created with simple colours reminds one of Joseph Turner's Lausanne From the West , which uses simple watercolours to construct a peaceful landscape. Zao first used watercolour to trace outlines, and followed up with casual freehand diffusion, to create a scene that is tranquil and expansive in equal measure. This ephemerality originating from the 70s opened up and enabled the artist's sense of "vacantness" in his works, using the Western watercolour medium to construct a fusion of East-West aesthetics.
The artist's proficiency and control in calligraphy and painting was developed over decades of practice, the works in this auction span across the 50s to the 70s, and are testaments to his growth. From the age of five, he would colour and doodle on works in art albums and the family china; as early as then, he instinctively resisted the bondage of the orthodoxy in painting or calligraphy, and just wanted to paint freely, on medium beyond paper, tracing "meaningless" lines. This self-initiated pursuit of a new style only intensified after his arrival to Paris.