Oil on board

90×44 cm 35 3/8×17 3/8 in

Signed in Chinese and English， dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
1995, Zao Wou-Ki Retrospective, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, p.142
1998, Zao Wou-Ki, Yves Bonnefoy & Gérard de Cortanze, La Différence/Enrico Navarra Paris, p.126
2014, The Joy of Collecting Art, Mountain Art Culture and Education Foundation, Kaohsiung, p.65
EXHIBITED
1962， Diptych and Triptychs by Contemporary Artists， Galerie Creuze-vault， Paris
1963， Zao Wou-Ki EXHIBITION， Galerie de France， Paris
1963， Zao Wou-Ki EXHIBITION， Redfern Gallery， London
1964， Zao Wou-Ki EXHIBITION， Galerie de France， Paris
Jan 1996， Zao Wou-Ki Retrospective， Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts， Kaohsiung
Jul 2000， Treasure in Mountain： The Select Collection， Mountain Arts Museum， Kaohsiung
Mar 2003， Legend in Mountain： Encounter Western Masterpiece， Shanghai Museum， Shanghai
Apr 2003， Legend in Mountain： Encounter Western Masterpiece， Sichuan Art Museum， Chengdu
Apr 2014， The Joy of Collecting Art， Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall， Taipei

PROVENANCE
Collection of Mountain Arts， Culture and Education Foundation
Important private collection， Asia

Torrents of air. Roaring waters. The very motion of the world runs across the triptych from left to right. As if it were overcome by an immense unsteadiness. The matter laden sky， the frothing stream， one urging the other drifting along the tide of Creation. Entire eras shivering in the grip of the monstrous rocking. Time is dead， killed by the fluctuations of being and nothingness. An entertainment for the gods？ No. A man stands right in the heart of the event. Here he is， a frail bark， lost on the edge of the stream. Here he is， a frail bark， lost on the edge of the stream.This return bears in itself its own revolution… The obliteration of the figure draws to a close， because the artist has walked his path of light， color， and matter to come back， as the initiated he became， and now shows us a man just as he is. The eye henceforth shows us the world of shapes from within the forms themselves.
—— Dominique de Villepin， the Former Prime Minister of France and Litterateur

There are transportation tags of Galerie de France， Paris and Redfern Gallery， London on reverse. This work will be included in the artist’s forthcoming catalogue raisonné by Françoise Marquet and Yann Hendgen （Information provided by Foundation Zao Wou-Ki）New Perspective， New View
Zao Wou-ki went to France in 1948. Within less than ten years， he has entered the core circle of the French art world by virtue of his own efforts in the mid-1950s. In 1955， he signed the representation contract with Parisian gallery tycoon， Gallerie de France， which also represented other A-list European painters including Pierre Soulages， Hans Hartung and Alfred Manessier， an abstract painter once awarded a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. However， the artist has never been complacent. He constantly tried to go beyond himself and challenge his own limits. In 1958， his creation came to a major turning point.
The triptych began with the innovation of forms.
Since 1958， we can see that there are two key focuses in Zao’s works. The first one is the approach to express his contemplation of individual’s fate， his comprehension of the universe and the world， and his interpretation of those matters which can’t be seen but exist in their own forms， with pure colors and lines. As Zao Wou-Ki once said himself：”I always ponder the methods of drawing the wind and expressing the brightness and pureness of the light. What I want to show is not nature， but the air loitering on the silent water surface， through juxtaposition and combination of symbols. I want to create colors and space， as well as the feeling of freshness， lightness， and tremble.” Second， Zao began to break through the conventional composition pattern and explore different possibilities. In 1962， inspired by the folding screen form of traditional Chinese furniture， he created the unique triptych work 19.04.62. on wood， for the first time to break the single canvas space. This was the beginning of Zao’s creation of polyptych. However， among nearly two thousand works in his lifetime， the number of the triptych is no more than 25. Further more， 19.04.62. is the only vertical composition， distinguished from other horizontal paintings， which gives this work significant prominence and marks the milestone in Zao’s artistic creation.
From the crossover of reality and fantasy， infinity arises.
When Zao Wou-Ki was working on this painting， he has already moved on from the leaving of his ex-wife， Xie Jinglan. He later married the movie star Chen Meiqin whom he met in Hong Kong and fell in love with in 1958. The lifetime love he had for Meiqin is also represented in the early 1960s’ work 19.04.62.. In this composition， the artist painted out a world of orange color with flat brushes， layer by layer on three vertical wood blocks. The rich colors with subtle gradient remind the viewers of the sunset glow illuminating the world and also resemble the happiness in Zao’s life.
In particular， the artist centralized the lines in the upper middle part and the bottom of this painting. At the upper half of it， Zao created a dynamic world through strong and swift brushes stained with brown green， black and white. It is a stage where the universe starts to get its form along with thunder and lightning and where the inner power of the universe makes itself appear. As the well-known art critic Jia Fangzhou described：”Zao Wou-ki’s works contain a condensation of oriental spirit. He used sharp strokes to materialize the imaginary matters and then made them collide. Like a photographer， he put a focus on these matters with high-definition vision， so that a visual center in confrontation and conflict was generated， pushing the rest of the picture far behind. In respect of pictorial representation， the painting constantly reminds us of the main features of traditional Chinese art， while there’s no descriptive， narrative or figurative imagery. It appears to be an extension of traditional Chinese landscape painting and can not be completed by Western artists.” At the lower half of the painting， the poetic simpleness made of a few strokes keeps the overall composition in balance， leaving the viewers dazzled by the artist’s skills.
The work’s connection with traditional Chinese landscape painting can also be seen from the vertical form， as well as its pictorial composition. For instance， the blank-leaving technique plays an important role in Chinese ink painting， as Chuang Tzu noted：”Inspiration comes from the empty space.” Yun Nantian， one of the six masters in Qing dynasty， also pointed out that people today follow where the brush goes， while those in the past pay attention to where the brush can not reach， in that the will of gods could be expressed. In 16.04.62， Zao Wou-Ki deliberately left blank space instead of visible imagery， giving the work more spatiality and possibility. When the strokes intertwine， we feel the vibrant breath of life. When the blank space makes its appearance， we hear the whispering of the boundless sky and sea. In the second year of 16.04.62’s creation， the work made its debut in the Diptych and Triptych of Contemporary Artists exhibition at the Paris gallery， Galerie Creuzevault， and continued to show up in his solo exhibitions holding at Galerie de France and Redfern Gallery in London. 16.04.62 has been shown to the public for over ten times since its completion and its enchanting beauty would leave the audience in astonishment at each time. In this auction， we’re honored to offer this well-sourced work.

Price estimate:
HKD: 5,000,000-8,000,000
USD: 643,500 – 1,029,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 11,650,000