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Lot Essay
“Rushing lines that twist and turn, as the river, now clear, now muddy, pulsates with a strong rhythm.”
Wu Guanzhong’s masterful oeuvre encompasses a profound exploration of China’s iconic landscapes. Revered as the “mother river” of Chinese civilization, the Yellow River symbolizes cultural and natural significance. Unavoidably, this became a theme in Wu Guanzhong’s artistic pursuit. By visiting the Hukou Waterfalls of the Yellow River twice in 1984 and 1986, Wu Guanzhong created a series of evocative pieces.
Diverging from the other portrayals of the Yellow River, the present work encapsulates a transcendent abstract representation of the river’s flow. Rapidly but gracefully, meandering but swirling, the artist created kinetic dynamism with the fluid lines delineated by his swift brushstroke. With soft and pastel colours applied within a compact composition, the painting radiates a sense of agility and rhythm. The fusion of the seemingly spontaneous lines and irregular shapes vividly evokes the loess and water texture. Unlike the landscapes we saw in traditional Chinese paintings, Wu Guanzhong focused on specific natural elements instead of the spectacular sceneries. Embracing an abstract concept with a linear perspective, Wu Guanzhong perfectly depicted the movement, which displayed his mature skills in Western painting techniques and Eastern aesthetics. The present work reveals Wu Guanzhong’s magnificent visions, combining the strengths of the East and the West. Converging and entwining the two aesthetics, Wu Guanzhong painted the mesmerizing Yellow River. Another example of the artist’s depiction of the Yellow River was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong Autumn auction in 2018, lot 1311.
Wu Guanzhong’s masterful oeuvre encompasses a profound exploration of China’s iconic landscapes. Revered as the “mother river” of Chinese civilization, the Yellow River symbolizes cultural and natural significance. Unavoidably, this became a theme in Wu Guanzhong’s artistic pursuit. By visiting the Hukou Waterfalls of the Yellow River twice in 1984 and 1986, Wu Guanzhong created a series of evocative pieces.
Diverging from the other portrayals of the Yellow River, the present work encapsulates a transcendent abstract representation of the river’s flow. Rapidly but gracefully, meandering but swirling, the artist created kinetic dynamism with the fluid lines delineated by his swift brushstroke. With soft and pastel colours applied within a compact composition, the painting radiates a sense of agility and rhythm. The fusion of the seemingly spontaneous lines and irregular shapes vividly evokes the loess and water texture. Unlike the landscapes we saw in traditional Chinese paintings, Wu Guanzhong focused on specific natural elements instead of the spectacular sceneries. Embracing an abstract concept with a linear perspective, Wu Guanzhong perfectly depicted the movement, which displayed his mature skills in Western painting techniques and Eastern aesthetics. The present work reveals Wu Guanzhong’s magnificent visions, combining the strengths of the East and the West. Converging and entwining the two aesthetics, Wu Guanzhong painted the mesmerizing Yellow River. Another example of the artist’s depiction of the Yellow River was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong Autumn auction in 2018, lot 1311.