Oil on canvas

53×65.1 cm. 20 7/8×25 5/8 in.

Signed in English on lower centre; signed and titled in Japanese on the reverse
EXHIBITED
27 May - 5 Jun 2024, Kazu Wakita Exihibition, Taimei Gallery, Tokyo

PROVENANCE
Taimei Gallery, Tokyo
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the above

This work is accompanied by a certificate of registration issued by Kazu Wakita Association

A Poem Composed of Tenderness and Innocence
The Warm and Heartwarming World of Kazu Wakita

Kazu Wakita was born in Tokyo in 1908. At the age of 13, he began studying painting under Syōdai Tameshige, one of the founders of Japan's earliest Western-style art group Meiji Bijutsu-kai, laying a solid foundation for his artistic journey. By the age of 15, he crossed the sea to pursue his artistic dreams in Germany. Two years later, he entered the Berlin National School of Fine Arts, graduating with honours in 1930 and receiving a gold medal from the school. After returning to Japan at the age of 22, his strong modernist style made him one of Japan's most representative artists. His works participated in prestigious exhibitions such as the 1951 São Paulo Biennale and the 28th Venice Biennale. Five years later, he was awarded the 1st Guggenheim International Art Prize, and in 1998, he was selected as a recipient of the Japan Cultural Merit, gaining worldwide recognition. In addition to the Wakita Museum of Art, his works are also part of the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo and the Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art.

Throughout his more than 80 years of relentless creative life, despite the turbulent times in which he lived, Wakita's works consistently featured gentle and endearing motifs such as birds, flowers, and children, always providing poetic solace and nurturing the soul. The Fruit of Clara, presented here, is a work that integrates Wakita's signature abstract artistic language.

The Fairy-Tale-Like Tranquil Bird's Poem

The name "Clara" means "clear and radiant," and in modern times, it is most famously associated with the heroine of Tchaikovsky's classic ballet The Nutcracker. In the story, Clara helps the Nutcracker Prince defeat the Mouse King, after which the prince gifts her a waltz called Waltz of the Flowers. The Fruit of Clara evokes the image of a wise girl with a pure, childlike charm. The painting is predominantly in passionate yet gentle red tones, with white lines outlining petal shapes, like a rose in full bloom. The crescent shape at the lower right corner resembles a small boat, like an elf's little vessel, floating through the sea of flowers. At the centre of the painting, a pure white bird seems to be offering fruit, radiating a moonlight-like white glow.

The "white bird" carries a strong romantic connotation in Japanese mythology, believed to be the manifestation of the legendary hero Yamato Takeru. According to the myth, after a naval disaster during his campaign, he loses his wife. After his death, his spirit transformed into a white bird. The white bird thus carries an ancient romantic sentiment. In Western culture, the white dove is a symbol of peace and brings good tidings. This work, with its celebration of love and peace, combines abstract brushstrokes with mystical, ancient imagery, creating a grand and delicate poem.

Price estimate:
HKD 30,000 - 50,000
USD 3,800 - 6,400