Ink and acrylic on paper mounted on canvas

45 x 45 cm. 17 3/4 x 17 3/4 in.

Signed in Chinese and English, dated and located on bottom left

LITERATURE
1997, Chao Chung-Hsiang, Alisan Fine Arts Gallery, Hong Kong, p. 67
EXHIBITED
17 Nov – 6 Dec 1997, Chao Chung-Hsiang: the Art of Enlightened Pleasure, Alisan Fine Arts Gallery, Hong Kong
PROVENANCE
Important Private Collection, Asia

Live Joyfully, Paint Mindfully
The Perceptive Renderings by Chao Chung-Hsiang

Chao Chung-Hsiang's creative career was considered to culminate in the 1980s, when he had been nourished by Western abstractionism after residing in New York for over 20 years. With an East-meets-West perspective, Chao managed in his heyday to put together a phenomenal collection of artworks, including Happy Family (Lot 95), Cause and Effect (Lot 96) and Leaning Closely (Lot 98) in the 80s as well as Forever Love (Lot 97) produced in 1990, all of which are up for bid at this auction. Chao played with ink and acrylic paint in an abstractionist manner that added connotations to bamboo and birds, putting in place a delicate balance of all living things in his paintings.

Bamboo as an Emblem of Elegance
In the 1970s, cubist influence was evident in Chao's works as he skilfully incorporated lines to enliven the composition while retaining the conventional brushstrokes of traditional ink art. In Leaning Closely , Chao made intentional pauses as he dragged the brush smoothly across the canvas to create the upward momentum of the bamboo. Well-arranged leaves, with dark-toned blades and sharp tips, remind viewers of the cursive calligraphy and the wide variety of elegant figures in Zheng Banqiao's works.
Chao's solo exhibition The Distant Planet was displayed at Asia University Museum of Modern Art this April. Wong Chia Chi, the curator of the exhibition, pointed out that Chao seamlessly combined the elements of Chinese watercolours and the geometric shapes of cubist art, and that “his complex thought process underlies his works”. In Leaning Closely, a thick bamboo zigzags upward, making the layout more lively, and three lean stalks at the background enhance the sense of depth and the visual effect. A pile of leaves nest above a couple of birds cuddling up in happiness. The gazing eye in the sky implies that the sojourning artist missed his family and looked forward to catching up with them soon.

Affinity with Feathered Friends
Chao was in constant pursuit of the spiritual connections with living things such as plants and birds for artistic inspirations. He sought companionship in New York by keeping birds, which were deployed in his paintings to express his deep attachments to his hometown. Happy Family, as one of the examples, was finished in the year he returned to Taiwan for the first time after two decades of residence overseas. In this piece, a parent is caring for its fledgling while looking back at its mate, symbolizing the artist's yearning for reunion. Chao painted out the nest of this lovely family of three with interlaced blue and black strokes. In Forever Love, the main subjects are a bird couple. The horizontal lines stake out their private space, showcasing the artist's mastery of painting techniques. This piece, another expressive work that conveys Chao's homesickness, exhibits the liveliness of Picasso as well as the freehand spirit of Pan Tianshou with a dual emphasis on form and content.

Causal Loop Implied by the Colour Clash
Cause and Effect, completed in 1983, takes a hybrid approach by using both Chinese ink and Western paint, creating a striking contrast. Flowers are placed right next to the ink puddle with a blue-and-green-striped luffa hanging on the left. The diagonal composition guides viewers back and forth between the black ink and the colours. The key message is to point out the repeating causal loop by drawing from the natural law of “flowers can turn into fruit”. Chao used appealing colours and bold patterns to communicate his reflections on life and present himself as one who aligned his artistic taste with philosophical pursuit.

Price estimate:
HKD: 180,000 – 280,000
USD: 23,000 – 35,700

Auction Result:
HKD: 330,400