Oil on canvas

55×55 cm 21 5/8×21 5/8 in

Signed in Chinese and dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
1994, Selected Collection of Ren Weiyin and Su Tianci, Chuang Yi Tang Art Agency, Taipei, p.61
PROVENANCE
Caves Art Center， Taipei
Private collection， AsiaTranquility and natural lyricism - this is what first-generation Chinese oil painter Su Tianci has always aimed for， creating new， yet traditionally “oriental” pieces of art. A teaching assistant for the Lin Fengmian studio at Hangzhou National Art College since 1948 and a true pioneer in the field， with a great zeal for the outdoors， Su set out from China’s southwest （specifically， Yunnan and Guizhou） and headed north， to Gansu and Xinjiang， to admire the nature there and paint what he saw. His broad experience of diverse characteristic landscapes was undoubtedly what allowed Su to develop his own sophisticated painting techniques， and these， in turn， enabled him to establish his own pictorial language.
In his artistic practice， Su Tianci is always true to the feelings a given landscape evokes within him， something immediately evident in A peaceful Streams， an important work once put up for viewing at Taipei Caves Gallery. The elaborately crafted image of serenity， with a stream bank in early spring， is concisely depicted， and yet still imbued with the artist’s inner understanding and worldview. For the trees on the bank， he uses dry brushing and calligraphic techniques to depict branches and make them look like deadwood. The artist manages to transform the natural scene into a poetized personal observation， everything here radiating a typical softness and tenderness that can only be found in the ancient waterfront towns of China’s Jiangnan region. In the foreground， the clear surface of the water and the reflections upon it are shown to be in absolute tranquility， displaying only what is utterly essential in order to maintain the artistic ambiance. The distant mountains in the background form a curved skyline， and this brings three-dimensionality to the plane of the painting.
When it comes to color， Su Tianci abandons bright tones so as to avoid an intense visual impact； instead， he strives to work with nuance， shades of gray. He weaves his setting out of grayish green， ocher， and ultramarine， including the intricate interplay of branches and twigs that penetrate into the upper part of the image， where they are alive with light green dots to signify the renewal of life. In connection with the distant mountains， they form a harmony that ultimately brings out the vast expanse of the sky. Upon observation， the picture most certainly invites viewers to step into the scene and allow themselves to be enveloped by the mist of the mountains， and if they accept the offer and heed the call， they are brought back in time to the 1980s to experience that very day in all its splendor.

Price estimate:
HKD: 250,000 – 350,000
USD: 32,100 – 45,000

Auction Result:
HKD: 684,400