Pastel on paper mounted on board

33×24 cm.×2 13×9 1/2 in×2

artist’s seal on bottom right

LITERATURE
1998, Yu-ichi INOUE Catalogue Raisonné of the Works Vol.3 1977-1985, Unac Tokyo Co. Ltd, Tokyo, pl. 83006
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

In 1956, Atsuko Tanaka created Electric Dress, one of the most renowned masterpieces of Japanese avant-garde art movement. By connecting numerous electrical cables with over two hundred light bulbs and tubes, Tanaka made this work dazzling with neon light, leaving a deep impression on the viewer at first sight and a monumental mark in the art history. By virtue of this work, Tanaka was accepted as a core member of the Gutai Art Association.
The work, Artworks, is composed of concentric circles in the order of size, forming bigger circles of bright orange and yellow color intertwined with swirling lines. This typical composition became a symbol of the artist’s paintings, representing the reaction of neurons when shocked by the electromagnetic pulse and showing the same robust power embodied in the flashing Electric Dress. The intertwined circles and lines in the two-dimensional space can be traced to the light bulbs and cables from her early works, reflecting the artist’s continuous thoughts on the social issue that how technology development has caused radical change to metropolitans from the 70s to the mid-80s.
Beneath Glittering Colors and Vivid Charm, Sincereness Brings Great Beauty.
Turn heaven and earth into the canvas—The establishment of Chinese abstract art.
As one of the first generation of Chinese artists to study in France, Wu Dayu was a representative figure of Chinese modern art. In 1927, he graduated from École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. One year later, he went to teach in Hangzhou Academy of Art along with Lin Fengmian and cultivated numerous talents, including Zao Wou-ki, Chu The-chun, Wu Guanzhong and Zhao Chunxiang. In the words of Zao Wou-ki, Wu was “a great teacher who excels in lighting up his students’ eyes.”
During the Culture Revolution, Wu Dayu was criticized and denounced by the Red Guards for being an intellectual studied abroad, and many of his manuscripts, archives, and paintings were confiscated. Wu Dayu at that time had an extremely harsh condition. To hide from the government supervision, Wu turned to small-scale crayon paintings, which remained his primary focus after 1965 when the Culture Revolution began. Wu Dayu has completed 1330 crayon works in the rest of his life, among which the presented Untitled I-654 and Untitled II-309 are two of the representatives.
Beneath the glittering color and vivid charm lies poetic sentiment.
In Untitled I-654（Lot 14）, Wu Dayu constructed a poetic space through the unique color and texture of crayon. From his swift strokes, the viewer observes a couple separated by a high ladder craving for embracing each with arms wide open. The vivid red color represents the bold and unrestrained spirit, echoing with the grey hue which symbolizes rationality. Wu borrowed the expressive power of color and structural tension from Western art and portrayed an ideal life with pure pigments and powerful abstract lines. Although the size is small, the feelings beneath the painting are profound, the aesthetic values it bears are significant.
Return to the original simplicity
Within the small canvas of Untitled II-309 （Lot 15）, Wu applied the flexible brush and vibrant color of crayon to express his unsophisticated thoughts of remaining faithful to the original aspiration. He deconstructed the imagery and shapes from the natural world and divided them into simple geometric forms. From the free lines and vibrant colors emerges a human face with round eyes and red lips. While composed of exaggerated facial features, it reveals genuine feelings of the artist. The abstract blue lines expand outwards, with warm red and yellow colors surrounded. Although the hard era brought Wu frustrations and hardship, his artworks remained bold and free, displaying his unique exploration of and significant achievement in the use of color and abstract lines.
The crayon painting can be seen as a visual diary of Wu Dayu. For decades, He has been using the crayon to record and explore. He observed the world and disclosed his heartfelt and poetic thoughts, as the philosopher Kant noted that “art is not to present a perfect idea, but to subconsciously create an original work of significant meaning to the world.” Wu Dayu proved to the world that his exploration of color aesthetics and abstractionism had illuminated the future of Chinese artists approaching a greater art world.

Price estimate:
HKD: 70, 000 - 120, 000
USD: 9, 000 - 15, 400

Auction Result:
HKD: 82,600