Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji)

signed in pinyin and Chinese; signed in pinyin, titled and dated 2.6.70 on the reverse

Cornette de Saint Cyr Paris, March 22, 1998, Lot 52
Asia Art Center, Taipei
Private Asian Collection

Paris, Galerie de France, Recent Works by Zao Wou-Ki, 1970

Jean Laude, Zao Wou-Ki, La Connaissance, Brussels, 1974, p. 88

This work is in good condition. There is evidence of very slight paint losses and light wear along the four edges of the work. There are 3 small paint losses at the upper right corner of the work and one at the lower left corner of the painting. There is an area of some unobtrusive yellow drips 20 cm in length along the right edge, 30 cm from the top edge of the work. There is no evidence of restoration under UV.
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Roar like the Thunder, Move like the Wind

It can be said that Zao Wou-Ki reached the apex of his artistic creativity beginning from the 1960s and this is evident from his recollection of his early-60s work, “There weren’t any more obstacles at a technical level, so I could set to work and paint, just following my feelings and painting as I wished… I have found freedom through the overlapping strokes of my brush; fervor and clamor had an attraction to me that far exceeded silence.” After a decade of tempering and refinement of skill,Zao had achieved an impressive mastery over abstract representations that is apparent from the intensity of his work 2.6.70 (Lot no. 530), which showed maturity and power. The work is an apt expression of the universe in its infinite vastness through placements of vertical and horizontal brush strokes that carried the majestic glory of the golden age; the calligraphic movements portrayed a strange yet magnificent state of art that is akin to the unpredictable turbulence of converging waters at estuaries. In 2.6.70 the forces of nature flow seem to flow with unrestricted ease along with the motions of Zao’s strokes. With colors of cobalt blue, ultramarine, iris, deep azure mergingat varying depths, the motion of the visual image does not stopat any lateral or longitudinal shift on the canvas but appears tofurl recursively in depth as the intensity and dynamics of strokes varied. The result is a harmonious composition of pigments with adequate tension, creating a spiritual space that allows one’s thoughts to fly and soar on the two-dimensional medium.

If the Wind has eyes, the natural landscape will appear to be hardly discernible

In 2.6.70, Zao attempted to create an infinite space through abstraction in order to liberate viewers’ spirit and thoughts from the reality so that they may ascend into the profound depths of the universe of art. Looking at the work, one may associate the image with Xun of Trigram (from Zhou Yi) that symbolizes“wind” and “blue”, with the view of the world from the perspectives of the wind, the cloud, the mountains and the waters. Through his creation, Zao has fused with nature to produce a resonating power. As a pioneer of impressionistic painting, J.M.W. Turner, the renowned 19^th century British landscape painter, had revered the rigorous force of changing climates with awe and utilized intense rendering techniques to instill into his works an energy that almost parallels that of nature. In Turner’s works, one would feel as if treading subtly into the realms of abstraction in the midst of hazy natural landscapes. In contrast, although Zao had also drawn inspirations from Nature, his work had completely transcendedthe bond that connects form and meaning. From the tangiblelandscapes that had long been the subject of Chinese artistic creations, Zao had taken one step further to open the doors to the world of intangible universe and nature and incorporated philosophical poetry and thought in 2.6.70. The abstract space depicted in this piece offers more aesthetic values than anything that is tangible with form.

Like a rock that creates countless echoes that resound across myriad abyssal trenches when hurled into the ocean

Having been conceived in the period that marked a distinctive change in Zao’s creative styles, apart from the exceptional majesty that emanates from 2.6.70, the work also gave subtle hints to the transformations that Zao was about undergo in the 70s. The works that Zao created during the 60s arecharacterized by thick, straight flowing brushstrokes that conveyed a staccato musicality and rhythm with emphasized beginnings and understated ends; the overall flow of force in those works often ran transversely along ridges or vertically in integration. With 2.6.70, the focus appears to converge at the center of the canvas before radiating outwards with intricate and sophisticated current of force, like a rock that creates countless echoes that resound across myriad abyssal trenches when hurled into the ocean, symbolizing the artistic flare thatZao has grown to command through the refinement of his thoughts and spirits over the years in his earlier days. The transforming wind and clouds at the center of the painting aretumultuous and turbulent, suggesting the impending roar of a thunder or the rise of the sun. The deep blue areas on both sides of painting leap through the space like a sharp hatchet or a sail of cloud, while the block of pure, unmitigated white that drifts from the right inconspicuously symbolizes the hope that the wind would clear the overcast and brighten the skies once again. Pitted against the cerulean overtones of the image, the block of white not only hints at the inevitable, drastic changes in nature about to take place but also stands for the shimmering light that will drive away the storm to usher in a new era of stateless purity that would be the 1970s.