Ink and acrylic on paper

42.5 x 63 cm. 16 3/4 x 24 3/4 in.

Stamped with an artist's seal on bottom right
PROVENANCE
Acquired by the original collector directly from the artist
Private Collection, USA
Private Collection, Asia

Let the True Self Shine
The Modern Ladies by Walasse Ting

“Walasse Ting's works are meaningfully striking to Chinese. Instead of arbitrarily labeling his paintings as pornographic, we should learn from him how to let our true self out through art.”
—— by Lin Mingjie, art critic

The beauty of upper-class ladies unfolds in plenty of traditional Chinese paintings, such as Admonitions Scroll that guides ladies of the imperial family on proper behavior and the court paintings highlighting the liberal social conduct of Tang dynasty. However, Ting's subjects swamped in flowers break away from the convention in terms of body figure, facial expression, color use and most importantly, the explicit praise of true self.

Settling in New York in 1959, Ting was inspired by abstract expressionism and pop art to leverage bright acrylic paint to depict erotic femininity. His paintings were aligned with sexual liberation of the time and served as an outlet for his true ego against the shock of western value. Since the 1970s, Ting has been supplying his portfolio with a large number of nude women, who feature the organic duality of Chinese and western aesthetics and the artist's honest self-expression. The spring auction proudly presents four of his portraits, which capture the charming figure and high-spirited soul of modern ladies.

Wild yet with Elegance

The newly arrived New Yorker paired acrylic paint with crayon to spice up his color play. The series of Love Me, Love Me (Lot 71) produced in the 1970s signaled his gear shifting towards the figurative. Finished in 1975, Love Me, Love Me exhibits a palette of intense iridescence, including bright blue, lemon yellow and fresh orange. The painting strikes viewers with a sexy blonde in suspender pantyhose lying on the side, who acts as a conspicuous counterculture symbol. His muse may come from the ubiquitous erotic ads on New York streets or the Playboy magazines, and pantyhose reminds viewers of the popular fashion show of Victoria's Secret. The permissive attitudes towards sex in the States add to Ting's creative breadth and help consolidate his distinctive style.

Starting from the 1990s, there has been a comeback of Chinese elements in Ting's collection. The marriage of ink lines and thin layers of acrylic paint coats the subjects with the gentleness of oriental sketches. Resting in Summer Afternoon (Lot 72), as an iconic piece of the style shift, shows a woman lying askew beside a bouquet. Her slim figure is as womanly and expressive as the naked lady in Modigliani's paintings. The panoramic composition exquisitely presents her body curve. The subject, tucked away in a flowery corner, seems to invite viewers into in her self-enclosed world with Eastern poetry.

The Eastern Sequel of Pop Art

“Beauty really has to do with the way a person carries it off.”
—— by Andy Warhol

In New York, Ting had pop art gurus such as Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselman and Roy Lichtenstein as his friends and neighbors, and was thus inspired by Warhol's prints with repeated patterns and dramatic color contrasts, presenting figures in large color blocks.

Geisha with a Fan (Lot 70) features a diagonal composition that separates the canvas into a stark contrast of simplicity and glamour. When the dazzling hues of pop art meet the minimalist beauty of ink strokes, the chemistry tops Geisha's already stunning appearance with an extra layer of natural charisma.

The subjects in Girls with Flowers (Lot 69) are roughly delineated by color patches, and the juxtaposition is again a callback of Warhol's repetition technique. The aloof green-hair and the gorgeous blue-hair, though wearing similar flower headpieces, stand in interesting contrast with each other, creating an absorbing visual appeal. Rather than being a mere portrait, the painting is more of the artist's observations of the contemporary society and an enhanced Chinese duplicate of pop art.

Price estimate:
HKD: 70,000 – 90,000
USD: 9,000 – 11,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 82,600