Watercolour on paper

12.5 × 33 cm. 4 7/8 × 13 in.

Signed in Chinese and English, dated on bottom right
PROVENANCE
Collection of Pauline Trigere, a well-known New York fashion designer
27 Nov 2011, Christie's Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Lot 1234
3 Apr 2017, Sotheby's Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 5040
Acquired directly by the present Asian collector from the above

Note: This work is referenced in the archive of the Foundation Zao Wou-Ki (Information provided by Foundation Zao Wou-Ki)

Amazing Work Replete with Meaning
Colorful Poems in Zao Wou-Ki's Watercolor

From his arrival in Paris in early 1948 to the early 1960s, Zao Wou-Ki had been through a series of period. At the beginning, he diligently explored the city, then he started to trace Chinese culture and cosmology in 1954, and made a blockbuster when the Oracle series came out. These was followed by his first trip to the United States in 1957, during which, he was touched by the abstract expressionism movement and the New York School's “Brush to Intention” movement. He began to adopt a more eloquent and fluid gesture in his paintings, injecting more profound strength, and opened his world famous creation with the “crazy cursive period” road.

It was at that period that the expression form of watercolor entered his vision. In his earlier works, Zao simultaneously embraced watercolor and oil painting artistic expression. However, it was the flowing, transparent and layered nature of watercolors, together with the similarities and differences to traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy that provided him with a way to escape the constraints of tradition, while exploring how best to synthesize Chinese and Western elements. This auction presents two excellent watercolor works of Zao created in 1954 and 1961 with a decent source.

A Zao Wou-Ki Masterpiece from the Collection of Renowned American Designer Pauline Trigere
After arriving in Paris in early 1948 and becoming involved in fashionable abstract painting, in the early 1950s Zao was inspired by the expressionism of Paul Klee and used lines to extract abstract elements from representational objects as he searched for his own painting vocabulary. In 1954, Zao started to look anew at his Eastern identity and Chinese culture and by tracing various writing forms, including oracle inscriptions and rubbings of bronze inscriptions, he was inspired by the origins of Chinese characters and the view of the universe they encapsulated. It was only after transforming these into a new abstract expressionist method that Zao reached his first creative peak.
The work Untitled 1954 (Lot 45), which was completed in the first year of the artist's Oracle Inscription period, is an impressive watercolor painting that showcases Zao's achievements and how he gave free rein to his imagination in this period. The provenance of the work is also well documented as it was collected by renowned designer Pauline Trigere, often known as “America's Coco Chanel.” Born in France and renowned in Europe and the US, Trigere was a fashion designed who rose to fame in the 1950s and had such luminaries as Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly as loyal clients. Trigere loved the resplendent visual world brimming with wonderful ideas Zao created, and Untitled 1954 is from her lifelong collection, only coming onto the market after she passed away. Indeed, this story imbues the work with added meaning, as a living testament to the appeal of Zao Wou-Ki's art beyond national borders and cultures.

Symbolic Imaginings Replete with Ancient Feeling and Semiotics
On starting his Oracle Inscription period, Zao Wou-Ki used inscriptions that depicted nature, birds and animals as a source of inspiration and imagination. He employed abstract and arbitrary strokes to reinterpret, the original upright stroke language semiotics, by showcasing them through different types of flexible freestyle strokes. If we look at the red sun at the center of this work and the surrounding “birds,” “trees” and “rivers” transformed from symbol shapes then these disperse and connect through the rhythmic extension of the strokes, coming to life as natural objects. Although the original hieroglyphics are vehicles for their own referential meaning, the vigorous colors and moving viewpoints also give rise to other mystical associations, from the surface of objects to the inner essence of all things.

From his arrival in Paris in early 1948 to the early 1960s, Zao Wou-Ki had been through a series of period. At the beginning, he diligently explored the city, then he started to trace Chinese culture and cosmology in 1954, and made a blockbuster when the Oracle series came out. These was followed by his first trip to the United States in 1957, during which, he was touched by the abstract expressionism movement and the New York School's “Brush to Intention” movement. He began to adopt a more eloquent and fluid gesture in his paintings, injecting more profound strength, and opened his world famous creation with the “crazy cursive period” road.

It was at that period that the expression form of watercolor entered his vision. In his earlier works, Zao simultaneously embraced watercolor and oil painting artistic expression. However, it was the flowing, transparent and layered nature of watercolors, together with the similarities and differences to traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy that provided him with a way to escape the constraints of tradition, while exploring how best to synthesize Chinese and Western elements. This auction presents two excellent watercolor works of Zao created in 1954 and 1961 with a decent source.

A Zao Wou-Ki Masterpiece from the Collection of Renowned American Designer Pauline Trigere
After arriving in Paris in early 1948 and becoming involved in fashionable abstract painting, in the early 1950s Zao was inspired by the expressionism of Paul Klee and used lines to extract abstract elements from representational objects as he searched for his own painting vocabulary. In 1954, Zao started to look anew at his Eastern identity and Chinese culture and by tracing various writing forms, including oracle inscriptions and rubbings of bronze inscriptions, he was inspired by the origins of Chinese characters and the view of the universe they encapsulated. It was only after transforming these into a new abstract expressionist method that Zao reached his first creative peak.
The work Untitled 1954 (Lot 45), which was completed in the first year of the artist's Oracle Inscription period, is an impressive watercolor painting that showcases Zao's achievements and how he gave free rein to his imagination in this period. The provenance of the work is also well documented as it was collected by renowned designer Pauline Trigere, often known as “America's Coco Chanel.” Born in France and renowned in Europe and the US, Trigere was a fashion designed who rose to fame in the 1950s and had such luminaries as Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly as loyal clients. Trigere loved the resplendent visual world brimming with wonderful ideas Zao created, and Untitled 1954 is from her lifelong collection, only coming onto the market after she passed away. Indeed, this story imbues the work with added meaning, as a living testament to the appeal of Zao Wou-Ki's art beyond national borders and cultures.

Symbolic Imaginings Replete with Ancient Feeling and Semiotics
On starting his Oracle Inscription period, Zao Wou-Ki used inscriptions that depicted nature, birds and animals as a source of inspiration and imagination. He employed abstract and arbitrary strokes to reinterpret, the original upright stroke language semiotics, by showcasing them through different types of flexible freestyle strokes. If we look at the red sun at the center of this work and the surrounding “birds,” “trees” and “rivers” transformed from symbol shapes then these disperse and connect through the rhythmic extension of the strokes, coming to life as natural objects. Although the original hieroglyphics are vehicles for their own referential meaning, the vigorous colors and moving viewpoints also give rise to other mystical associations, from the surface of objects to the inner essence of all things.

Ethereal Flight, Poetry and Melody in Watercolors
Zao's reflections on watercolor forms can also be seen in Untitled 1954. The work showcases his flexible use of smudging and dry rubbing watercolor techniques, with cracked rubbed color at the edges and ethereal brushstrokes at the center. The vigorous brown and light sky blue mingle to create rich changes and mottling, as if reciting the magnificent vastness of heaven and earth. At the same time, the orange-yellow, earth-yellow, malachite green and other bright colors revolve around semiotics, come to life and explode with infinite vitality. “There is no need for a boundary between semiotics and colors. I uncover spatial depth by using combinations of different colors,” Zao said. He also employed the transparency of watercolors to ensure the overlapping of multiple hues, ensuring the uncertain ancient characters are partly hidden and partly visible, thereby infusing the unbroken brushstrokes with a sense of flowing energy.

Zao's Imposing Realm, Reappearance of the Collection of a Belgian Gallery
Stepping into the 1960s, Zao Wou-Ki's wartercolor creations can be described as unique. He continuously uses the subtle perspective of light, shadow, and water to create paintings, emphasizing the transparency of color and the fluidity of composition. Benefited from the cursive elements that began to be incorporated in the late 1950s, in the early 1960s, he further organically combined the arbitrary cursive gestures with the rendering of watercolors, and saw the peaceful and profound elegance in the unrestrained dynamic momentum. Zao's watercolor works created in the 1950s were often small in size, and the in the 1960s he expanded the size of his creations. Untitled (Lot 46), which was completed in 1961, is a rare large-scale work.

The work was firstly collected by the Dobbelhoef Gallery in Belgium. This gallery held a solo exhibition for Zao in 1978. At that time, the famous Belgian Daily News called Zao “An art master who combines the oriental traditions and Parisian styles and shows dynamic expression and abundant emotions”, proving the recognition he received. In the work Untitled belonging to the “crazy cursive period”, the artist explored the rhythm of oriental brush and ink and the sense of space of abstract expression, which is an excellent example of his artistic achievement in this period.

Rich and Clear, Five Colors of the Ink and Zao's Poetic Spirit
In this work, Zao dilutes the pigment with different amount of water to make it show a multi-penetration effect like ink. The unique painting style makes his works balance the magnificence of British artist William Turner and the sense of ethereal and remote elegance.

For example, the work is composed of a classic convergent and scattered composition. In the condensed area below, the work shows the spread and dot pattern consecutively and randomly. Layers of smudges and progressive cursive gestures agitate the momentum of the sea. The haze of sapphire blue and purple haze slowly flies and rises from it, rippling among the mountains and clouds, and the vastness affects the mysterious light color flow. Going to the top, the ink color is further lightened, with a clear and single-layer rendering, forming a lingering hazy atmosphere. The paintings' “density” has a great rhythm, containing the infinite vitality in the contraction and relaxion of the space.
The creation of watercolor opened up another world for Zao. The blending of color and ink contains nostalgia for the universe and landscape, and reproduces the original charm of his art in the abstract vitality.

Price estimate:
HKD: 550,000 – 750,000
USD: 70,900 – 96,700

Auction Result:
HKD: 1,416,000