Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji)

Important Private Asian Collection 

Dominique de Villepin, ed., Zao Wou-Ki: Oeuvres 1935-2008, Kwai Fung Art Publishing House, Hong Kong, 2010, p. 18

This work is overall in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

Nature in Transformation

Untitled (Lot 1006), created in 1954 like Wind, is a rare watercolour from Zao Wou-ki's Oracle Bone period. During this time, Zao mostly painted natural subjects in oil, employing colours and compositions to create synesthetic relations to natural phenomena like wind and snow, lightning and thunder, and sunlight. When looking at his paintings, we can hear the sounds of wind and feel the desolation of a snowscape, the force of thunder and lighting, and the scorching heat of the sun. Untitled seems to convey the sensations of a misty and rainy scene. For Zao, blue represents peace, and purple hopelessness. The two colours create a loose rhythm of contrast. Grounded in Chinese culture, Zao Wou-ki harks back to the origins of Chinese writing and the cosmology and imaginary realms they embodied. He no longer represents nature in concrete figures, but through an abstract expression that results from a profound appreciation for nature's miraculous creativity. What he paints is not landscapes but nature. Resembling pictographs, the lines in the painting are abstract visualizations of vitality, so that the painting approaches a manifestation of nature itself. The amorphous misty scene of Untitled exceeds any figurative representation, inspiring the viewer's boundless imagination.