Oil on canvas

80.5 x 65.5 cm.31 3/4 x 25 3/4 in.

Signed in Chinese and dated on lower right

Chiu Ya-Ts’ai 1949-2013

Chiu Ya-Tsai is best known for portraiture，whose specialty lies in the facial expressions and subtle movement of the figures，full of lively stories and emotions. The portraits reveal strong care for humanity and are directly related to his extensive and profound reading. Chiu Ya-Tsai is familiar with Chinese history and foreign literature. He admires Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky. His rich reading experience enhances his cognition for humanity in society and solidifies the firm foundation for his artistic style.

Chiu Ya-Tsai was never interested in the traditional formal academy training since childhood and he has been unconstrained by traditional painting skills in the process of art creation. Instead，he pursued a subjective emotion，using modern techniques to portrait the humanity in society. This artistic approach is quite unique，combining classic Chinese essence and modernism. Like Lin Feng-Mian，he avoids the literary painting system since Song and Yuan Dynasties，but traced back to the styles of Han and Tang Dynasty.

In the two works in this sale，Chiu Ya-Tsai employs simple lines and colors to portray the gentle look，the calm temperament and the slender shape of figures with poetic melancholy. The portraits of modern Taiwanese under Chiu’s brush are profoundly impacted by the paintings from Tang Dynasty，i.e. the hook nose，almond eyes and oval face that seem to be calm in grace. Nevertheless，a sense of complexity and darkness in humanity is perceived after careful examination. Humble or arrogant，decadent or fragile，Chiu Ya-Tsai has granted portraiture with vibrant life，which contributes to his unique style in art circle.

Price estimate:
HKD：200,000 - 300,000
USD：25,800 - 38,700

Auction Result:
HKD : 236,000