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拍品专文
In my journey as an artist, Paris has had a definite impact on me. However, I have to say that with the full development of my character and artistic voice, I have also gradually rediscovered China. All of my recent works exhibit inherently Chinese characteristics. Paradoxically, Paris has made it possible for me to rediscover my roots. Zao Wou-Ki, early 1950s
When Zao Wou-Ki reminisces about the 1950s, he inevitably makes reference to the renowned Swiss sculpture artist Alberto Giacometti, who was his close friend and neighbour on the rue du Moulin Vert, Paris. At the time, Zao was moving wholeheartedly on a quest towards abstraction. Giocometti however, expressed the unpopular opinion that he liked the figurative detail in Zao's earlier works more than his abstract paintings. In particular, he admired the "vibrating carelessness" of his brushstrokes. Nature morte aux poissons (Lot 1), epitomizes Zao's works from this period, in which the artist navigates between his older style and experimental style. When Zao Wou-Ki first saw the works of Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland in 1951, he exclaimed that, "on a small canvas, Klee establishes a space that looks incredibly vastKHis understanding and love for Chinese art is evident. I am entranced by how tiny symbols, set within a multidimensional space, can create a whole world!" In 1916-1917, Klee majored in Chinese literature and was therefore introduced to Chinese calligraphy and painting. He incorporates Chinese calligraphic characters into his work to form a unique artistic voice. One can therefore infer that Zao Wou-Ki resonated with the outpouring 'Eastern' qualities in Klee's works. Since the 1950s, traditional Chinese calligraphic lines have become a predominant feature of Zao's works. From the early 1950s (also known as Zao's "Klee period") onwards, Zao began to create abstract images with lines. He produces images of nature, landscape and architecture. He transforms inanimate objects and animals into symbols made up of simple, interweaving lines. The forms float freely on top of his canvases. Zao's landscapes should not be interpreted as a depiction of reality. Instead, it encapsulates Zao's cosmic vision and admiration for the traditional Chinese notion of the unity between man and the universe. In his travels, Zao closely studied the architecture of various cities as it inspired him to think about the arrangement of space on his canvas. For him, the individual forms are elemental parts of the universe within the pictorial frame. In Nature morte aux poissons , Zao builds the background with a thin layer of red paint. This in effect forms a backdrop that acts as a barrier to the real world. He then uses traditional lines to draw the outlines of a series of shapes that float in the vacuum. This includes brown fishes in the shape of the half-moon, grey vases in the shape of pyramids, turkey blue ovals, mustard green triangles and semi-circles. These symbolic motifs intersect with the crosses, curves and dots. Rendered in casual strokes, these forms move beyond the boundaries of figurative definition, and form co-existing parts of the universe. The colour and geometry resonate with each other to create melodic harmonies. Zao creates visual rhythms that flow and shift on a two-dimensional surface. This echoes the artistic conceptions of Alexander Calder's (Fig. 1) kinetic sculptures. In Nature morte aux poissons , the artist scatters forms and undecipherable symbols spontaneously onto the canvas. Although upon first glance, the painting seems to have no narrative content, it is in fact rich with poetic allusion. It is evocative of Qi Baishi's manner of imbuing ordinary inanimate objects with a quiet beautiful quality (Fig. 2). At the same time it also borrows from the pale colours and refined compositions found in Mi Fu's Spring Mountains (Fig. 3). In Nature morte aux poissons , Zao presents his memories with abstracted lines. He replicates the lofty ideals the literati tried to achieve in ink play. In Nature morte aux poissons , he rejuvenates ancient literati landscapes with a Western medium in an ingenious manner. In the preface to one of Zao's exhibitions, the French art critic (Zao's close friend), Henri Michaux offers the following interpretation to Zao's works. This reading perhaps can be wholly applied to Nature morte aux poissons. Michaux writes, "[the forms] are revealed, yet are half hidden; broken, yet connected; they move spontaneously to reveal the pulse of [Zao's] reveriesKAt a glance, the canvas seems to dance with the joyful atmosphere characteristic of a Chinese countryside village. The atmospheric effects, amidst a jumble of symbols, is joyful yet funny and playful
When Zao Wou-Ki reminisces about the 1950s, he inevitably makes reference to the renowned Swiss sculpture artist Alberto Giacometti, who was his close friend and neighbour on the rue du Moulin Vert, Paris. At the time, Zao was moving wholeheartedly on a quest towards abstraction. Giocometti however, expressed the unpopular opinion that he liked the figurative detail in Zao's earlier works more than his abstract paintings. In particular, he admired the "vibrating carelessness" of his brushstrokes. Nature morte aux poissons (Lot 1), epitomizes Zao's works from this period, in which the artist navigates between his older style and experimental style. When Zao Wou-Ki first saw the works of Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland in 1951, he exclaimed that, "on a small canvas, Klee establishes a space that looks incredibly vastKHis understanding and love for Chinese art is evident. I am entranced by how tiny symbols, set within a multidimensional space, can create a whole world!" In 1916-1917, Klee majored in Chinese literature and was therefore introduced to Chinese calligraphy and painting. He incorporates Chinese calligraphic characters into his work to form a unique artistic voice. One can therefore infer that Zao Wou-Ki resonated with the outpouring 'Eastern' qualities in Klee's works. Since the 1950s, traditional Chinese calligraphic lines have become a predominant feature of Zao's works. From the early 1950s (also known as Zao's "Klee period") onwards, Zao began to create abstract images with lines. He produces images of nature, landscape and architecture. He transforms inanimate objects and animals into symbols made up of simple, interweaving lines. The forms float freely on top of his canvases. Zao's landscapes should not be interpreted as a depiction of reality. Instead, it encapsulates Zao's cosmic vision and admiration for the traditional Chinese notion of the unity between man and the universe. In his travels, Zao closely studied the architecture of various cities as it inspired him to think about the arrangement of space on his canvas. For him, the individual forms are elemental parts of the universe within the pictorial frame. In Nature morte aux poissons , Zao builds the background with a thin layer of red paint. This in effect forms a backdrop that acts as a barrier to the real world. He then uses traditional lines to draw the outlines of a series of shapes that float in the vacuum. This includes brown fishes in the shape of the half-moon, grey vases in the shape of pyramids, turkey blue ovals, mustard green triangles and semi-circles. These symbolic motifs intersect with the crosses, curves and dots. Rendered in casual strokes, these forms move beyond the boundaries of figurative definition, and form co-existing parts of the universe. The colour and geometry resonate with each other to create melodic harmonies. Zao creates visual rhythms that flow and shift on a two-dimensional surface. This echoes the artistic conceptions of Alexander Calder's (Fig. 1) kinetic sculptures. In Nature morte aux poissons , the artist scatters forms and undecipherable symbols spontaneously onto the canvas. Although upon first glance, the painting seems to have no narrative content, it is in fact rich with poetic allusion. It is evocative of Qi Baishi's manner of imbuing ordinary inanimate objects with a quiet beautiful quality (Fig. 2). At the same time it also borrows from the pale colours and refined compositions found in Mi Fu's Spring Mountains (Fig. 3). In Nature morte aux poissons , Zao presents his memories with abstracted lines. He replicates the lofty ideals the literati tried to achieve in ink play. In Nature morte aux poissons , he rejuvenates ancient literati landscapes with a Western medium in an ingenious manner. In the preface to one of Zao's exhibitions, the French art critic (Zao's close friend), Henri Michaux offers the following interpretation to Zao's works. This reading perhaps can be wholly applied to Nature morte aux poissons. Michaux writes, "[the forms] are revealed, yet are half hidden; broken, yet connected; they move spontaneously to reveal the pulse of [Zao's] reveriesKAt a glance, the canvas seems to dance with the joyful atmosphere characteristic of a Chinese countryside village. The atmospheric effects, amidst a jumble of symbols, is joyful yet funny and playful