Watercolour on paper

40 × 56 cm. 15 3/4 × 22 in.

Signed in Chinese and English, dated on bottom right
PROVENANCE
Original collection of Maurice Lefebvre-Foinet, Paris
Thence by descent to the previous European collector
1 Dec 2009, Christie's Paris Autumn Auctions, Lot 46
17 Jun 2012, JSL Taipei Spring Auctions, Lot 66
Acquired directly by present important Asian collector from the above

Note： Original collector Maurice Lefebvre-Foinet was a renowned illustrator in France
This work is referenced in the archive of the Foundation Zao Wou-Ki (information provided by Foundation Zao Wou-Ki)

The Trickle Converges into the Sea, a Brush Creates the Mountain
Mountains and Sea on Zao Wou-Ki's Paperwork

“Zao Wou-Ki's artistic destiny is not personal, however, it is inextricably linked to the development of the painting tradition over thousands of years. His art form is the first time that the harmony between China and the West has been truly realized.”
——Francois Cheng, renowned Literate

Zao Wou-Ki initiates the abstract landscape series in the 1960s, fully demonstrating his masterful balance of rigid and gentle lines. The beauty of curves and the sense of rhythm in the paintings naturally radiate the lyrical temperament. The integration of traditional Chinese ink painting techniques, incorporating the humanistic interest of calligraphy, for example, enables him to reach a subtle balance in the exploration of Chinese and Western aesthetics. During this period, his personal life went through ups and downs. Although he made continuous breakthroughs in his art career, he fell into a tough spiritual phase. His second wife, May Zao, was struggling with a critical illness. Painting became his exit from the plight of life. The two watercolor paintings created in 1967, Abstract (Lot 39) and Sans Titre (Lot 40) are two of the most powerful works of the period.

Beyond the Mortality, the Wisdom from the Empty

Abstract combines Western media and Eastern aesthetics, adopting the color expression and the scatter perspective commonly used in traditional Chinese landscape painting. He deliberately left blank space in the horizontal, expressing his understanding of the aesthetic conception of Zhuangzi, “wisdom rises from the empty”, focusing the viewer's vision on the center, and highlighting his delicate line planning. The construction of the background space of Abstract is based on horizontal brushwork with a few vertical brushes, creating a multi-dimensional space between the brushstrokes of fiction and reality. Such a dynamic composition is the projection of the inner intense emotions of Zao.

Galloping and Changing, the Smoke or the Sea

The main theme of the picture transitions from deep and quiet blue to mysterious and moist indigo purple, which is dominated by the Prussian blue of different shades, with wild dark brushstrokes constructing the overall layout. Together with the overlapping and fine-grained bright white, the colors show a very dramatic scenery on the paper. The use of multi-layered blue color enhances the depth of the space shadow, and extends outward to form an expanded posture, which implies complex emotional tension in the calm color distribution. The short black brushstrokes that flicker interweave a tight structure in the center of the painting as if it is infiltrated by the indigo blue symbolizing the water of the lake, swimming in the changing color layer. The painting seems to have a subtle touch of the depth of the seabed, creating a wave of life and portraying the artist's spiritual realm.

Dancing Brush on Paper, Winding Sword in Heart

Zao adopts a banner composition in Sans Titre completed in the same year, emphasizing the transformation of colors and the composition of formal elements. He uses brushstrokes in the upper right, lower right, upper left, and lower left directions to break the stability while pulling each other. The horizontal and vertical directionality of the elements overlaps and interlaces, cleverly revealing warm ocher and purple-red in the earth tones. Each color layer seems to be constantly surging, showing a continuous sense of dynamics. He creates a transitional change with the infiltration and blending of the color edges. In the center, he applies the earth and black colors horizontally with a large brush. The transitional tones are rendered up and down, suggesting the retreat to the middle of the scene, and megaphoning the hidden power of accumulation. The black bottom of the painting is the densely interweaving brown lines, reminding us of the delicate foreground of Fan Kuan's Travelers Among Mountains and Streams of the Northern Song Dynasty. It also creates strong contrast with the middle ground and the unsaturated color space above and below, indicating Zao's master play of the freehand spirit and his understanding of the concept “calligraphy and painting share the same origin.”

The Transform of Universe, the Race of Brushstrokes

In Sans Titre, the broad brushstrokes in the upper half of the painting play a similar role. While the lower part is painted with deeper colors, and as the vision moves upward, it gradually becomes brighter. The white space in the middle is the burning light source in the painter's heart. With his mental image in front of him, the artist pointed directly at the most essential source of Eastern painting——nature, which is where the unspoken beauty of heaven and earth is!

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,000,000 - 1,500,000
USD: 128,500 - 192,700

Auction Result:
HKD: 1,320,000