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Lot Essay
In June 1987, Wu Guanzhong represented China when he participated in India’s Contemporary Chinese Oil Paintings Exhibition. Wu visited many local museums, art galleries and the renowned landmark Taj Mahal Palace. On his return to Mumbai, a large flock of sheep blocked his road and inspired him to paint the present lot. Wu remarked in his journal:
“to see the Taj Mahal, I had to travel in a taxi without air-conditioning and was running around for twelve hours under 42 degrees of heat. On my return, a flock of sheep blocked the road, and our car could not proceed. Like a powerful current flowing in a river, the sheep’s white colour connected with the clouds in the sky. The highway was surrounded by a greyish-yellow desert, much like the Gobi in Xinjiang. All of a sudden, the white hue dominated the universe. A few shepherds wore white shirts, only revealing their tanned arms and shoulders. I was captivated by the red scarfs they used to wrap their heads, which stood out entirely from the cloud of white. I was so touched and amazed. Perhaps it was the contrast between the red and the white? Or the strength and the resistance of the people on the highlands? I fell into exhilaration, appreciation and reverence and forgot to turn on my camera! At the Taj Mahal today, I did not think of taking any photographs at all. When I returned to my hotel, I could not sleep. I could only sketch what I remembered under the dim light, but this was only a flash of a memory.”
The collection’s highlight is the five Wu Guanzhong paintings, dating from the 1970s to the 1980s, with brilliant colours and diverse subjects. As society opened up towards the end of the 1970s, Wu Guanzhong dedicated himself entirely to sketching, painting, and organizing exhibitions at last. Travelling across the country and beyond, he documented the different people, cultures and customs he saw, instilling a new life and novel themes into his art. From a sketching trip to Shandong with his students at the Academy of Arts and Design in 1976, Wu painted Longxu Island in gouache. Located in Rongcheng, Weihai in Shandong province, Longxu Island (Lot 1077) is located at the eastern tip of the Jiaodong peninsula. Inspired by the island scenery and the fishing activities, Wu painted many oil and ink paintings and sketches of the lives on the island. Beginning to experiment with ink in the mid-1970s, it was not until the 1980s that Wu focused most of his work on ink. While Wu travelled to Sichuan to sketch, he was captivated by the rice paddies in the area and subsequently painted a body of works on this theme. Although Rice Paddies (Lot 1078) is undated, we can reference a sketch with similar composition dating from 1984. Reminiscences of the Indian Shepherds (Lot 1079) is an extremely rare theme in Wu’s oeuvre. From Wu’s trip to India, he captured the shepherding scene from memory with his superb virtuosity in ink and brush.
For Wu Guanzhong, Hong Kong played a crucial role in shaping his career as an international artist thanks to its connectivity between China and the West. Partnering with commercial galleries and department stores, Wu held several solo shows in Hong Kong and Japan in the 1980s. In 1985, he came to Hong Kong after being away for four decades. In 1989, he held his first show at Plum Blossoms Gallery, a place for many emerging Mainland Chinese artists to have the opportunity to showcase their works to a Hong Kong and also expatriate audience. The exhibition was so successful that visitors queued in front of the gallery in the early hours, eager to see the show and purchase his paintings. Village (Lot 1080) and Ferry Pier (Lot 1081) were works acquired by the owners from this exhibition. Recounting the moment when Wu left China to study Western art in France, his career came full circle as collectors, academics, and art connoisseurs worldwide applauded and appreciated his paintings from the 1980s well into the present day.
“to see the Taj Mahal, I had to travel in a taxi without air-conditioning and was running around for twelve hours under 42 degrees of heat. On my return, a flock of sheep blocked the road, and our car could not proceed. Like a powerful current flowing in a river, the sheep’s white colour connected with the clouds in the sky. The highway was surrounded by a greyish-yellow desert, much like the Gobi in Xinjiang. All of a sudden, the white hue dominated the universe. A few shepherds wore white shirts, only revealing their tanned arms and shoulders. I was captivated by the red scarfs they used to wrap their heads, which stood out entirely from the cloud of white. I was so touched and amazed. Perhaps it was the contrast between the red and the white? Or the strength and the resistance of the people on the highlands? I fell into exhilaration, appreciation and reverence and forgot to turn on my camera! At the Taj Mahal today, I did not think of taking any photographs at all. When I returned to my hotel, I could not sleep. I could only sketch what I remembered under the dim light, but this was only a flash of a memory.”
The collection’s highlight is the five Wu Guanzhong paintings, dating from the 1970s to the 1980s, with brilliant colours and diverse subjects. As society opened up towards the end of the 1970s, Wu Guanzhong dedicated himself entirely to sketching, painting, and organizing exhibitions at last. Travelling across the country and beyond, he documented the different people, cultures and customs he saw, instilling a new life and novel themes into his art. From a sketching trip to Shandong with his students at the Academy of Arts and Design in 1976, Wu painted Longxu Island in gouache. Located in Rongcheng, Weihai in Shandong province, Longxu Island (Lot 1077) is located at the eastern tip of the Jiaodong peninsula. Inspired by the island scenery and the fishing activities, Wu painted many oil and ink paintings and sketches of the lives on the island. Beginning to experiment with ink in the mid-1970s, it was not until the 1980s that Wu focused most of his work on ink. While Wu travelled to Sichuan to sketch, he was captivated by the rice paddies in the area and subsequently painted a body of works on this theme. Although Rice Paddies (Lot 1078) is undated, we can reference a sketch with similar composition dating from 1984. Reminiscences of the Indian Shepherds (Lot 1079) is an extremely rare theme in Wu’s oeuvre. From Wu’s trip to India, he captured the shepherding scene from memory with his superb virtuosity in ink and brush.
For Wu Guanzhong, Hong Kong played a crucial role in shaping his career as an international artist thanks to its connectivity between China and the West. Partnering with commercial galleries and department stores, Wu held several solo shows in Hong Kong and Japan in the 1980s. In 1985, he came to Hong Kong after being away for four decades. In 1989, he held his first show at Plum Blossoms Gallery, a place for many emerging Mainland Chinese artists to have the opportunity to showcase their works to a Hong Kong and also expatriate audience. The exhibition was so successful that visitors queued in front of the gallery in the early hours, eager to see the show and purchase his paintings. Village (Lot 1080) and Ferry Pier (Lot 1081) were works acquired by the owners from this exhibition. Recounting the moment when Wu left China to study Western art in France, his career came full circle as collectors, academics, and art connoisseurs worldwide applauded and appreciated his paintings from the 1980s well into the present day.