Chao Chung-hsiang (Zhao Chunxiang)

signed in pinyin and Chinese and dated 1989
executed in 1989.

Private Asian Collection

Chao Chung-hsiung, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong, 1997, p. cover, 19, illustrated in colour
Absolute Artist: The Artistic World of Chao Chung-hsiung, Locus Publishing, Taipei, 1997, p. 167, illustrated in colour

This work is in good condition overall. There are artist pinholes at upper corners. There are scattered abrasions and creases across the paper.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Chao Chung-Hsiang lived in New York in the 1980s. During this time, his works received recognition from both local and overseas museums and curators. In 1981, New York's Brooklyn Museum collected his works The Golden Light and Lotus and Bamboo in the Rain. He also held his solo exhibition in Taipei Fine Arts Museum in 1985. The 1980's was the period that Chao felt most confident and most comfortable in his artistic expression. In In Praise of Light, completed in 1989, the artist fully demonstrates his unstrained and mature artistic techniques. This work was published by Hong Kong' Alisan Fine Arts gallery as the catalogue cover entitled Chao Chung-hsiang in 1971 and represents a peak of his mature period. Its arrival on the market is a delight for collectors of Chao Chung-hsiang's work.

In this painting, Chao combines Chinese and Western art through the use of tradition ink and rice paper, his boldly innovative brushstrokes and acrylic colours that create a vivid composition. There are seven purple blue nestlings in the chilly bamboo forest expressing the lonely artist's longing for reunification with and the affections of his overseas family.

In the upper half of this painting, there is the sun symbolising brightness casting its soft light of future for the newborn birds. This work signifies the artist's blessing for life and his philosophical perspective for family and friendship.