Watercolour and ink on paper

27.9 x 38.1 cm. 11 x 15 in.

Signed in Chinese and English and dated on bottom right
PROVENANCE
Cadby Birch Gallery, New York
25 Nov 2007, Christie's Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Lot 332
Private Collection, Asia
This work will be included in the artist's forthcoming catalogue raisonné prepared by Françoise Marquet and Yann Hendgen （Information provided by Foundation Zao Wou-Ki）

Lovebirds in an Eastern Garden of Eden
Zao Wou-ki, Sans Titre
Zao Wou-ki's lengthy artistic experimentation with Chinese traditional techniques led him to develop an intuitive understanding of media such as watercolors, ink, and paper, which became the basis for his unique style. In the early stages of his career in France, his creations still carried figurative traits, but he had slowly begun to shrug off the constraints of perspective and focus in favor of flatter images with multiple visual points. By deconstructing the spatial characteristics of his subject, Zao found he was able to represent beauty in a more subtle, diverse way.
At this point in his career, Zao would often incorporate the highly symbolic subject of birds into his work. These birds hint at the artist's reverence for nature and longing for freedom. Sans Titre exemplifies Zao's use of watercolors at the time. In this painting, Zao uses minimalist brushstrokes to depict two birds facing one another； these birds display the innocence and unaffectedness favored in East Asian culture and art. The artist also blends blues and browns in varying concentrations and a smoggy effect to create the background of the image, which resembles the surface of a body of water rippling in the moonlight. This background leads the viewer's gaze toward the somewhat indistinct sailboat in the distance （also depicted in minimalist brushstrokes）, causing one to wonder where the boat is headed. Unlike other watercolors by Zao at this time, Zao has used dots rather than bold lines as a means of softening the outline of the two birds, diversifying the texture of the image and creating a vivid sense of movement.

Price estimate:
HKD: 500,000 - 600,000
USD: 63,700 - 76,400

Auction Result:
HKD : 590,000