Ink, acrylic and collage on paper

56 × 95 cm. 22 × 37 3/8 in.

Signed in Chinese and dated with an artist's stamp on bottom right

LITERATURE
2004, Liu Kuo-Sung: A Universe of His Own, Chan Liu Art Group, Taipei, p.75
PROVENANCE
8 Apr 2014, China Guardian Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 137
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the above

Creating Wonderous Nature
Liu Kuo-Sung's Modern Green Landscape

Since 1957, when the ‘May Painting Club' was established to promote the modern art movement, to the 1960s, when the exploration of the commonality of Eastern and Western art through abstraction, Liu Kuo-Sung has had a profound influence on the development of modern Chinese art during the second half of the 20th century. He breaks the barriers of traditional ink and wash with rich and creative methods, such as collage, inkjet, rubbing, cramping, and peeling. To this day, he continues to be at the forefront of modernist innovation with avant-garde concepts and expressions.

In 1974, he published an article ‘A Discussion of Painting Techniques', in which he proposes epoch-making propositions such as ‘The Life of Revolutionary Zhongfeng' and ‘The Life of a Revolutionary Brush'. In the same year, the macro-universe series returned to the reconstruction of the landscape of the world; and from the perspective of ‘breaking and then standing', a new image of contemporary pen and ink was established. Featured this auction, Unknown Beneath was also completed during the groundbreaking year of 1974.

Coinciding with Zhang Yanyuan's concept of ‘Nature Above All' from the Tang Dynasty, Liu also used the creative technique of ‘automatism' to present a natural and emotional aura. As an exquisite representative of the artist's creation of nature in 1970s, Unknown Beneath fully demonstrates Liu's proficiency in technique and color expression. The painting uses a multi-layered rubbing structure to divide the profoundness and breadth of space and the order of nature, such as the sky, the distant mountains, flowing clouds and the ridges near water with a range of colors. It is reminiscent of the elegant, green landscape paintings from the Tang and Song Dynasties. The undulating green peaks and green ridges are displayed through multiple methods, such as transfer printing and ink extension, are paired with a filiform texture, which is brought out by cramping and peeling methods, naturally simulating the shape of traditional landscapes. The blank space in the center of the painting is more smudged because of the amount of water used, creating a resemblance of floating clouds and presenting the beauty of virtual and reality, rigidity and softness. The work features a hidden pattern of green mountains and winding rivers, where the sonorous vigor and wit of thousands of mountains originate.

Price estimate:
HKD: 650,000 - 1,000,000
USD: 83,500 - 128,500

Auction Result:
HKD: --