HSIAO CHIN | Senza titolo

Important Private European Collection 

Milan, Galleria Cadario, Movimento Punto - The 1^st Exhibition, 7-21 May 1962
Barcelona, Palacio de la Virreina, Movimento Punto - The 2^nd Exhibition, 11-25 August 1962
Macerata, Municipal Modern Art Museum of Macerata, Movimento Punto - The 6^th Exhibition, May 1964
Bologna, Galleria 2000, Movimento Punto - The 8^th Exhibition, December 1964
Kaohsiung, Alien Art Center, Les Couleurs du Ch'an: Hommage à Hsiao Chin, 2 May - 3 November 2019

Je'rôme Neutres, Les Couleurs du Ch'an: Hommage à Hsiao Chin, Éditions Dilecta, Paris, 2019, p. 74
Joshua Gong, Hsiao Chin and Punto - Mapping Post-war Avant-Garde, Unicorn Publishing Group, London, 2020 

The work is overall in very good and its original condition. Upon very close inspection, there are a few very minor signs of hairline crack in the center left, all of which appear to be in stable condition. Examination under UV light reveals no sign of restoration.
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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."

 "I believe abstract art encompasses both Eastern and Western cultures, each with its own symbolic significance. Abstract art in China has not modernized in the strictest sense, while only in the West there is modern abstract art. As time changes, our life, thoughts and attitude began to connect closely and overlap to a certain degree with the West. As a result, applying the modernization of Western abstract art onto cultures from the East is indeed an opportunity to transform. The exploration process of La Danza di Luce, Il Sole, and Potere Universo series from the Movimento Punto are indirectly connected to Buddhism and Daoism. The round shape represents completeness. I therefore applied round dots in my paintings. I am an Eastern person and I was brought up in the East. My thoughts and thinking structure are also deeply connected to the East. Consequently, I used round dots to interpret the pursuit of perfection and positive energy.

Bright orange is the light and energy of the sun, full of thriving vitality. Brown and green on the other hand represent essential elements for all things to grow. The vast patch of green on the soil is the flourishing life force. It nurtures all living beings. Purple and dark green gather energy, bringing together energy from all directions into one place before releasing it again, as seen in the gathering points and central parts in Senza titolo (1962) (Lot 1044)."

Hsiao Chin in an interview with a Sotheby's Specialist, February 2020

Hsiao Chin's Senza titolo: A Rare and Invaluable Witness to Movimento Punto

In 1961, Hsiao Chin cofounded the Movimento Punto alongside fellow artists including Lucio Fontana, Antonio Calderara, Li Yuan-Chia and Dadamaino in in Milan, with an aim to revive the waning postwar abstract art with the Spirit of Contemplation that stemmed from Tang and Song dynasties. From then until 1966, thirteen exhibitions were held across eleven locations including Italy, Spain, Switzerland, as well as a Taipei exhibition in 1963, achieving an international reach across Europe and Asia. With close to 40 postwar pioneers from Asia, Europe and America taking part, it was a melting pot of postwar art and one of great significance. Hsiao Chin's abstractionist language had developed into a strong personal style since the Punto period (1961-66), and the work's spiritual aspects are clearly related to Eastern ideas of the universe. In terms of composition, they echo other 1960s avant-garde movements such as Op Art, Hard-edge Painting and Color Field Painting. In 1962, during a critical moment when the first, second and third Punto Movement exhibitions were held in Milan, Barcelona and Albissola, Hsiao Chin traveled across different cities while working in earnest to create his very best works to be exhibited. Not only was the present lot completed in that very year, but it was also exhibited in the first, second, sixth and eighth exhibition, making it a valuable witness to this spectacular chapter in postwar Asian art history. In 2019, Hsiao's solo exhibition "Les Couleurs du Zen: Peintures de Hsiao Chin" held at Musée Guimet included the present lot as a representative work by the artist, demonstrating its exceptional position in academic research. Placing the present lot's radial triangular composition in the wider context of art history, it is clear that the painting has inherited the Eastern concept of universe – specifically, the four Mythical Creatures and the 28 Lunar Mansion, as well as the four key elements. At the same time, it has progressed alongside European and American Op Art and Post-painterly Abstraction, if not slightly leading ahead, from which the dazzling flare of the then 27-year-old artist shines through.



This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Hsiao Chin Art Foundation and signed by the artist The authenticity and information of this work have kindly been confirmed by Hsiao Chin and Hsiao Chin Art Foundation