Ink and color， acrylic on paper

48.3×44.5cm 19×17 1/2 in

Signed in Chinese and English on upper right
PROVENANCE
Important private collection， AsiaAt the beginning of the twentieth century， Chinese modern art was under the invasion of Western style， resulting in the active exploration of painting techniques in between the tradition and innovation， Eastern and Western styles. The color and ink painting initiated by Lin Fengmian interpreted the Western concept of cubism in a typical Chinese literati way， and then inspired a group of masters daring challenge the tradition with broad vision. Among them is the “one of the most outstanding students” in the National Hang-chou Art Academy， Chao Chun-Hsiang. Chao Chun-Hsiang spent his life exploring the combination of Chinese literati painting and Western abstract. After he graduated from the National Hang-chou Art Academy， Chao traveled around Europe and eventually settled down in New York. During this thirty years， he consistently explored bold and innovative ideas in his unremitting art practice. In 1963， he was invited by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as a specialist to participate in the international exhibition of the representative abstract painters from fifty-two countries， bringing the Chinese abstract to the center of the global art world， which was a significant contribution to the modernization process of Chinese art.
Most of the subjects in Chao Chun-Hsiang’s paintings are based on Chinese imagery， such as lotus， bird， fish， bamboo and Tai Chi diagram. While Chao rendered them through ways combining Western abstract expressionism and the semi-realistic Chinese freehand painting techniques.Also， he tried to make an innovation of the material， applying oil， canvas， and acrylic to Chinese ink painting. The result is a unique personal style and artistic charm which adhere to the essence of traditional literati painting in an abstract form， which combines the bright colors from Western art and the lingering aroma of the Chinese ink， which brings together the vitality of Western culture and the mystery of Oriental culture.
Bring forth the new through tradition： The World of Treasure， Leisure， Together
The diversified themes of Chao Chun-Hsiang can be summarized in two dispositions： express traditional Chinese culture and ideas employing set symbols and literati elements， and present his expectation and pursuit by painting imageries like flowers， bird， fish， and insect. The three works， The World of Treasure（lot798）， Leisure（lot799） and Together（lot800）， which will be presented in this auction are among the representatives， showing the artist’s distinctive artistic style and creative context.
The World of Treasure is a rare work in which the artist employed Chinese characters. The four characters Hua， Gui， Ren， and Jian were painted in the diamond color blocks as if the leave of a couplet in Chinese culture. They are ranged in the vertical and horizontal order to shape a Diamond composition. With the Chinese ink characters placed in the bright color blocks， such an impromptu shows the artist’s mastery of both Chinese and Western art techniques. The lotus in full bloom echoes with the main image of Treasure. The dense distribution of yellow and red dots implies the allegory that the rain drops nourish all things in earth， perfectly uniting the concepts of image and imagery， ink and color， form and rhythm. This work is the exact interpretation of Chao’s lifetime pursuit of the sublimation of Chinese art that combines the matter of traditional Chinese art and the art form of Western modernism.
In the composition of Leisure， the concentric circles composed of points and lines spread outwards as layers of ripples， creating vortex-like gradation and a mysterious spaciousness. Three fish were placed across the center and the bottom of the painting. Separately in deep and light colors， two cranes erected in the painting. The interlaced composition transformed the three-dimensional perspective onto the flat canvas， showing the artist’s skills. The blue lines stretching in vertical directions on both sides of the work bring the viewers’ focus out from the continuous expansion of the hollow circles to the two cranes in the center， constituting the visual balance of static and dynamic imagery.
In Together， the concentric circles and the box shaped bright color field constitute the unique concept of “round sky and square earth”. The gestures and ink lines of the two birds accompanying each other are bold and free， showing Chao Chun-Hsiang’s characteristic styles based on abstract expressionism. The acrylic paint with the thickness of the oil and the clearness of watercolor， mixed with ink， formed Chao’s artistic language of the ink wash style modern abstract painting， in which the blank leaving， the variation of the ink strokes and the color collocation together achieved a strong visual tension.
The bounce of freedom and life
The work Abstract completed in 1989 is a rare masterpiece of Chao Chun-Hsiang in the 80’s and 90’s. The entire work is composed of two groups of contrasting colors， including brown， green， blue and white. With the geometric shapes of square and circle， this work is a rational dialogue between the composition techniques and the visual experience. Chao Chun-Hsiang attached great importance to techniques. As the artist stated himself， “I’m very careful with the length， width， weight， and humidity of my strokes， as well as the selection and combination of shapes and colors. I often think about their subtle relationships.” In Abstract（lot801）， we’re able to get rid of the mindset of concrete figures and focus on the artist’s profound exploration of material， color， stroke， and composition.
In this work， the artist first covered the whole painting with brown and red， then wiped the brush with grass green paint， creating a brown field in an irregular shape. Some merged， some detached， the seemingly inadvertent arrangement of color shows the artist’s experience and skills developed through many years’ practice. He perfectly depicted the rhythm of space， bringing its viewers into an imagination for the earth and the prairie. Two dominant colors create a certain tension， as like the balancing of black and white in traditional Chinese painting. On the right side of the painting， Chao outlined his iconic concentric circles with smooth and firm lines. These lines bring infinite vitality into the work， representing the rules of the solar variation. In the upper middle part of the painting， the artist used gold foil to lighten the entire space and bring a feeling of hope. Among all his art works， this is the only piece of the use of gold foil， which makes it unique and rare. The size of this work is small， but the picture is free and vivid， lingering in all viewers’ mind.

Price estimate:
HKD: 70,000-150,000
USD: 9,000 – 19,200

Auction Result:
HKD: 82,600