Pen and colour pen on paper

39.5 x 28.2 cm. 15 1/2 x 11 1/8 in.

Signed in Chinese, titled and dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
1989, The Art of Wu Guanzhong, L & F Art Gallery, Hong Kong, p. 172
PROVENANCE
Previous Collection of Dr. Kwee-Seong Lo
31 May 2011, Christie's Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 2787
Important Private Collection, Asia

Looking over Mountains, Capturing Beautiful Scenery
Wu Guanzhong's A Clear Day in Huangshan, from the Collection of Lo Kwee-Seong

From the magnificent scenery of the Huangshan mountain range to quiet and refined lotus ponds, Wu Guanzhong praises all kinds of natural landscapes with his unique observational skills. He incorporates his own understanding of Western abstract art into his creative practices, forming landscape paintings that possess both the realistic qualities of realism and the subjective features of expressionism. In the 1980s, Wu used his brush to show the images of mountains and rivers that have accumulated in his mind during his travels around China. A Clear Day in Huangshan shows exceptional vitality and incorporates traditional Chinese artistic language, reflecting the artist's admiration of the scenery of his motherland and his respect for traditional ink painting.

The Highest Peak in the Clouds
A Clear Day in Huangshan, featured in this autumn auction, was created in 1983 and was included in a notable album of the artist's works, Wu Guanzhong Paintings, compiled in the late 1980s. This work was once collected by a Hong Kong businessman, investor, and philanthropist — Lo Kwee-Seong. A Clear Day in Huangshan is not only an exceptional piece from Lo's collection, but also an outstanding work of Wu's landscape paintings created in the 1980s.
A Clear Day in Huangshan depicts a majestic mountain confidently and decisively sketched with pens, its lines resembling traditional Chinese ink paintings. The monumental mountain takes the viewer's breath away. It is reminiscent of Song dynasty painter Fan Kuan's Travelers among Mountains and Streams: there is lush vegetation around the peak, contrasting with the bare rock, and the thick green lines look like water falling down the mountains, constituting an unusual, while still beautiful, scene. On both sides of the towering main summit are two smaller rocky peaks with tall, dense trees covering the hills in the foreground. The trees seem to be very far apart from the thinly outlined clouds at the top, the work's sense of space rather distinct. When sketching, Wu utilized the method of observing the painted object from many angles, as was done by ancient painters. At the same time, his expressive lines replaced the various ink techniques present in Song dynasty paintings, yet he retained the lack of spatial constraint typical of landscape paintings, showing unlimited creativity. All in all, A Clear Day in Huangshan not only resembles the simple style of Qing dynasty painter Shi Tao, but also possesses the distinctive characteristics of modern art.

Expressive Depiction of Pines on the Mountain Peak
Out of all elements of the beautiful scenery of the Huangshan mountain range, it was the pine trees that made a deep impression on Wu. He appreciated their tenacity and strength and often drew them to motivate his own self. The foreground of this painting features straight and green vertical lines that depict tall, towering pines, while wide and short horizontal lines show the flat crowns unique to Huangshan's pine trees. Thanks to his unique skills, Wu utilized pens to create rich and precise strokes of varying thickness, showing the viewers a vibrant landscape with mountains, woods, and waterfalls and allowing them to appreciate both ancient and modern modes of artistic expression.

Price estimate:
HKD: 800,000 – 1,500,000
USD: 102,000 – 191,300

Auction Result:
HKD: 967,600