ZAO WOU-KI (1920-2013)
1950 The Abstract Poem of Zao Wou-Ki
2016 SOLD for HK$ 70M including premium
The family of Zao Wou-Ki owned an artwork by Mi Fu, the outstanding artist of Song time who was so skillfully blending landscape and calligraphy. The boy considered early that painting and poetry must meet in a unique art.
In making his art studies in Hangzhou, Zao learns oil painting with Lin Fengmian. Arriving in Paris in 1948, he discovers abstract art. He is also inspired by the research of Henri Michaux on the abstraction of the calligraphic message.
For Zao, the color is a kind of theater stage on which he will write his poems on the hidden meaning of the universe. Figuration (boats, birds or the Moon) is drifting into a pseudo-calligraphy that makes it increasingly indecipherable.
In 1950 some oils on canvas by Zao are dominated by pure green that is mingled with more complex hues such as blue-green or yellow-brown. These colors express his vision of the world at that time. Green will soon cease to be an essential element of his palette.
On May 28 in Hong Kong, Christie's sells an oil on canvas "Vert émeraude" 127 x 127 cm, lot 24. The delicate balance of the masses may evoke day and night.
The trend of the artist toward an expressionist abstraction is already taken with fully filled surfaces as in Pollock, the absence of structural lines as in Still, an unreadable message announcing Gaitonde and a subtlety in color mixing which prefigures Richter.
In making his art studies in Hangzhou, Zao learns oil painting with Lin Fengmian. Arriving in Paris in 1948, he discovers abstract art. He is also inspired by the research of Henri Michaux on the abstraction of the calligraphic message.
For Zao, the color is a kind of theater stage on which he will write his poems on the hidden meaning of the universe. Figuration (boats, birds or the Moon) is drifting into a pseudo-calligraphy that makes it increasingly indecipherable.
In 1950 some oils on canvas by Zao are dominated by pure green that is mingled with more complex hues such as blue-green or yellow-brown. These colors express his vision of the world at that time. Green will soon cease to be an essential element of his palette.
On May 28 in Hong Kong, Christie's sells an oil on canvas "Vert émeraude" 127 x 127 cm, lot 24. The delicate balance of the masses may evoke day and night.
The trend of the artist toward an expressionist abstraction is already taken with fully filled surfaces as in Pollock, the absence of structural lines as in Still, an unreadable message announcing Gaitonde and a subtlety in color mixing which prefigures Richter.
1955 Poetry under the Moon
2016 SOLD for HK$ 47M including premium
Zao Wou-Ki is not a poet like the others. He does not use words but painting. After his arrival in Paris he seeks the essence of figurative themes associated with a proto-calligraphy that blends East and West by following altogether the automatic writing of Michaux and the mystery of the Oracle bones of ancient China.
Expressing the harmony of the shadows at the border between day and night, Vert Emeraude is one of the earliest examples of his art without figurative elements. Painted in 1950, this oil on canvas was sold for HK $ 70M including premium by Christie's on May 28, 2016.
The poet operates more systematically afterward a shift towards abstraction. He no longer watches boats and trees vanishing within the mist. He sees rain, wind, frost, light, all these elements without a proper form that create the atmosphere and poetry of our planet. His color has become an intercessor between the world and the viewer and his pseudo-calligraphy will soon become unnecessary.
On October 2 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells Paysage dans la Lune, oil on canvas 117 x 88 cm painted during the winter 1954- 1955, completed in January, 1955, lot 1017 estimated HK $ 40M.
This French title is misleading, probably unintentionally, with its extra-terrestrial meaning. The theme is the ambience of moonlight in a clear frosty winter night, with a contrast between the dark masses in the foreground that can still be the silhouette of the trees and the bursting light from the rest of the surface accentuated by an upward motion of the pseudo-calligraphy.
Expressing the harmony of the shadows at the border between day and night, Vert Emeraude is one of the earliest examples of his art without figurative elements. Painted in 1950, this oil on canvas was sold for HK $ 70M including premium by Christie's on May 28, 2016.
The poet operates more systematically afterward a shift towards abstraction. He no longer watches boats and trees vanishing within the mist. He sees rain, wind, frost, light, all these elements without a proper form that create the atmosphere and poetry of our planet. His color has become an intercessor between the world and the viewer and his pseudo-calligraphy will soon become unnecessary.
On October 2 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells Paysage dans la Lune, oil on canvas 117 x 88 cm painted during the winter 1954- 1955, completed in January, 1955, lot 1017 estimated HK $ 40M.
This French title is misleading, probably unintentionally, with its extra-terrestrial meaning. The theme is the ambience of moonlight in a clear frosty winter night, with a contrast between the dark masses in the foreground that can still be the silhouette of the trees and the bursting light from the rest of the surface accentuated by an upward motion of the pseudo-calligraphy.
1956-1957 The Primordial Chaos
2018 SOLD for HK$ 183M including premium
By his abstract art of the mid-1950s Zao Wou-Ki expresses specific feelings detached from a figurative support and gives the key in his short titles. He sees the wind, the night, the dawn, the pond, the dust, the lightning.
He works in Paris but is increasingly nostalgic with his Chinese origins. He is tempted by the synthesis of the mystical beliefs of East and West. An oil on canvas 200 x 162 cm titled Et la Terre était sans forme, dated 1956-1957, is the culmination of this creative impulse.
The title in French is therefore associated with the West and paraphrases the second verse of Genesis just before the appearance of light. In this phase the Earth is uninhabited but cannot be empty. Its creation is an explosion of colors.
The primordial world of Yin and Yang is another interpretation of the creation of forms. Since 1954 Zao was sprinkling his works with an illegible calligraphy inspired from the Oracle Bones, these earliest witnesses of Chinese paleo-scripture which were undoubtedly an attempt at communication with the heavens and anticipated the symbols on the Shang ritual bronzes. The well-centered fireball of Et la Terre était sans forme is patterned with the Oracle bones signature signs of the artist but they are too small and too tight to invite for an understanding in the modern world.
This painting was sold for HK $ 29.4M including premium by Christie's on November 25, 2007, a very high price for a work by Zao at that time. It is estimated HK $ 90M for sale by Poly in Hong Kong on March 29, lot 164.
The mystical crescendo of Zao Wou-Ki is halted by his break in early 1957 with his wife Lan Lan. The hypersensitive artist is in shock. He leaves for a long stay with his brother near New York City where he discovers the spontaneity of abstract expressionism. A new phase of total abstraction will begin.
Please watch the video shared by Poly HK.
He works in Paris but is increasingly nostalgic with his Chinese origins. He is tempted by the synthesis of the mystical beliefs of East and West. An oil on canvas 200 x 162 cm titled Et la Terre était sans forme, dated 1956-1957, is the culmination of this creative impulse.
The title in French is therefore associated with the West and paraphrases the second verse of Genesis just before the appearance of light. In this phase the Earth is uninhabited but cannot be empty. Its creation is an explosion of colors.
The primordial world of Yin and Yang is another interpretation of the creation of forms. Since 1954 Zao was sprinkling his works with an illegible calligraphy inspired from the Oracle Bones, these earliest witnesses of Chinese paleo-scripture which were undoubtedly an attempt at communication with the heavens and anticipated the symbols on the Shang ritual bronzes. The well-centered fireball of Et la Terre était sans forme is patterned with the Oracle bones signature signs of the artist but they are too small and too tight to invite for an understanding in the modern world.
This painting was sold for HK $ 29.4M including premium by Christie's on November 25, 2007, a very high price for a work by Zao at that time. It is estimated HK $ 90M for sale by Poly in Hong Kong on March 29, lot 164.
The mystical crescendo of Zao Wou-Ki is halted by his break in early 1957 with his wife Lan Lan. The hypersensitive artist is in shock. He leaves for a long stay with his brother near New York City where he discovers the spontaneity of abstract expressionism. A new phase of total abstraction will begin.
Please watch the video shared by Poly HK.
1958 The Second Birth of Zao Wou-Ki
2013 SOLD 90 M RMB yuan including premium
Zao Wou-ki was deeply shocked by his divorce in early 1957. The oil on canvas titled Nous Deux, 161 x 200 cm, called for the dawn of his second career in a world inhabited by strange and indecipherable calligraphic signs. Nous Deux was sold for HK $ 35M including premium at Christie's on May 24, 2009 .
Nous Deux is one of his last works that had an explicit title. From this turning point, Zao expresses his inner fire and leaves the viewer with the task of interpreting it, or just admiring.
Abstraction is an oil on canvas, 130 x 162 cm, painted in 1958. This explosion of glowing fire is like the origin of the world in a dark environment, such as Matta also could have dreamed it. The fake calligrams from Nous Deux become smoky debris floating in front of the bright colors.
For Zao, this artwork was also the starting point of his life as a famous artist. Exhibited alongside Hartung at the Galerie Charpentier, it ensured an immediate success for this 37 year old artist. This masterpiece spent afterward half a century in the Art Institute of Chicago which is deaccessioning it now.
Abstraction is the star lot of the first great sale made by Sotheby's in Beijing, on December 1. It is estimated RMB yuan 35M. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sotheby's had rightly highlighted the importance of this specific Abstraction in the art of Zao Wou-ki. It is a great success: RMB 90M including premium.
Nous Deux is one of his last works that had an explicit title. From this turning point, Zao expresses his inner fire and leaves the viewer with the task of interpreting it, or just admiring.
Abstraction is an oil on canvas, 130 x 162 cm, painted in 1958. This explosion of glowing fire is like the origin of the world in a dark environment, such as Matta also could have dreamed it. The fake calligrams from Nous Deux become smoky debris floating in front of the bright colors.
For Zao, this artwork was also the starting point of his life as a famous artist. Exhibited alongside Hartung at the Galerie Charpentier, it ensured an immediate success for this 37 year old artist. This masterpiece spent afterward half a century in the Art Institute of Chicago which is deaccessioning it now.
Abstraction is the star lot of the first great sale made by Sotheby's in Beijing, on December 1. It is estimated RMB yuan 35M. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sotheby's had rightly highlighted the importance of this specific Abstraction in the art of Zao Wou-ki. It is a great success: RMB 90M including premium.
1963 The Whirlpool of the World
2017 SOLD for HK$ 76M including premium
Facing the canvas Zao Wou-Ki releases his impulses. His violence does not prevent his lucidity : he knows that the total and complex mastery of his brush and of his paint layers allows him to go even further in the creation of his universe in perpetual motion. He is somehow an abstract surrealist.
From 1957 he regularly visits New York where he is represented by the Kootz Gallery. He incorporates in his style the gestural spontaneity of the Action Painting experienced by him as a fight against the canvas along with a more frequent use of large sizes standardized to 130 x 195 cm in the United States.
The landscape view with its infinite horizons replaces the vertical format. The moving magma of lava supersedes the volcanic eruption in his sensorial universe.
On September 30 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells 09.01.63, oil on canvas 130 x 195 cm, lot 1016 estimated HK $ 50M. In a nocturnal atmosphere the bubbling soil brings a dazzling illumination.
The creativity of the artist continues irrepressibly. 14.11.63, a similar scene of the same dimensions in an incandescent daylight, was sold for HK $ 39M including premium by Christie's on May 28, 2011. On a larger format 255 x 345 cm later reduced to 230 cm high, 29.09.64, a view even closer to the central whirlpool of the artist's mind, was sold for HK $ 153M including premium by Christie's on May 27, 2017.
From 1957 he regularly visits New York where he is represented by the Kootz Gallery. He incorporates in his style the gestural spontaneity of the Action Painting experienced by him as a fight against the canvas along with a more frequent use of large sizes standardized to 130 x 195 cm in the United States.
The landscape view with its infinite horizons replaces the vertical format. The moving magma of lava supersedes the volcanic eruption in his sensorial universe.
On September 30 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells 09.01.63, oil on canvas 130 x 195 cm, lot 1016 estimated HK $ 50M. In a nocturnal atmosphere the bubbling soil brings a dazzling illumination.
The creativity of the artist continues irrepressibly. 14.11.63, a similar scene of the same dimensions in an incandescent daylight, was sold for HK $ 39M including premium by Christie's on May 28, 2011. On a larger format 255 x 345 cm later reduced to 230 cm high, 29.09.64, a view even closer to the central whirlpool of the artist's mind, was sold for HK $ 153M including premium by Christie's on May 27, 2017.
1964 Abstraction and Calligraphy
2017 SOLD for HK$ 203M including premium
Zao Wou-Ki is passionate about art since childhood. His grandfather teaches him calligraphy. Later in Europe he often uses that specifically Chinese philosophy in his abstract art.
Calligraphy is a visual art with its five shades of ink. Like Western graphology it reveals the behavior and energy of the writer. The emperors used huge autograph characters to convey to the court their moral precepts as the Sons of Heaven.
At first Zao's message is primarily visual. When he incorporates lines in his abstract theme of natural forces, they do not constitute words. The synthesis will come later : in 1957 he integrates into his works some paleo-writing elements from the oracle bones.
Zao is attentive to anything that can exacerbate his exceptional energy. His visits to New York teach him to leave freedom to the movement of the hand, which does not exclude a repetition of the gesture to achieve an unlimited entanglement of colors. He also cancels any reluctance to monumentality despite the material difficulties for its implementation, as Rothko had done ten years earlier.
His abstract landscapes become gorgeous. 09.01.63 was sold for HK $ 76M including premium by Sotheby's on September 30, 2017. 29.09.64 was sold for HK $ 153M including premium by Christie's on May 27, 2017.
Painted in the mean time, 29.01.64, oil on canvas 260 x 200 cm, retrieves altogether the vertical format and the memory of the imperial calligraphy. A kaleidoscopic landscape is masked by a gigantic sign with complex lines in which Chinese readers globally recognize the character meaning love or longevity. Westerners may instead see a big tree in the storm.
29.01.64 is estimated HK $ 85M for sale by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 25, lot 24. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Calligraphy is a visual art with its five shades of ink. Like Western graphology it reveals the behavior and energy of the writer. The emperors used huge autograph characters to convey to the court their moral precepts as the Sons of Heaven.
At first Zao's message is primarily visual. When he incorporates lines in his abstract theme of natural forces, they do not constitute words. The synthesis will come later : in 1957 he integrates into his works some paleo-writing elements from the oracle bones.
Zao is attentive to anything that can exacerbate his exceptional energy. His visits to New York teach him to leave freedom to the movement of the hand, which does not exclude a repetition of the gesture to achieve an unlimited entanglement of colors. He also cancels any reluctance to monumentality despite the material difficulties for its implementation, as Rothko had done ten years earlier.
His abstract landscapes become gorgeous. 09.01.63 was sold for HK $ 76M including premium by Sotheby's on September 30, 2017. 29.09.64 was sold for HK $ 153M including premium by Christie's on May 27, 2017.
Painted in the mean time, 29.01.64, oil on canvas 260 x 200 cm, retrieves altogether the vertical format and the memory of the imperial calligraphy. A kaleidoscopic landscape is masked by a gigantic sign with complex lines in which Chinese readers globally recognize the character meaning love or longevity. Westerners may instead see a big tree in the storm.
29.01.64 is estimated HK $ 85M for sale by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 25, lot 24. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1964 Abstraction up to the Horizon
2017 SOLD for HK$ 153M including premium
Zao Wou-Ki reaches a new level of his maturity in the early 1960s. His intense art no longer needs references to other artists. Alone in his studio he lets his inner tensions explode. He had learned from the abstract expressionists of New York the advantage of the large formats with which the artist increases the amplitude and the speed of the movement.
His vast and tormented landscapes with a perspective and a horizon in fact come exclusively from his subconscious. His fire based planet is composed of incandescent whirls and of lava flows.
29.9.64 is his largest format on its date, originally 255 x 345 cm later reduced to 230 x 345 cm under the supervision of the artist. The dominant darkness is embellished with saturated blue fighting with bright white in the foreground and an orange center.
The large surface allows a multitude of minute details that constitute together the sumptuous balance of the universe while resorting to the widest variety of techniques : impasto, transparent layers, drips, splashes and pseudo-calligraphy.
Two weeks later the Hommage à Edgar Varèse executed in the same original size confirms a key to the creativity of Zao at that time. He was passionate about contemporary music and a great friend of Varèse. The musician knew how to place silences in the midst of the noise just like the tumultuous landscapes of the artist include quiet details.
29.9.64 is estimated HK $ 38M for sale by Christie's in Hong Kong on May 27, lot 4. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
His vast and tormented landscapes with a perspective and a horizon in fact come exclusively from his subconscious. His fire based planet is composed of incandescent whirls and of lava flows.
29.9.64 is his largest format on its date, originally 255 x 345 cm later reduced to 230 x 345 cm under the supervision of the artist. The dominant darkness is embellished with saturated blue fighting with bright white in the foreground and an orange center.
The large surface allows a multitude of minute details that constitute together the sumptuous balance of the universe while resorting to the widest variety of techniques : impasto, transparent layers, drips, splashes and pseudo-calligraphy.
Two weeks later the Hommage à Edgar Varèse executed in the same original size confirms a key to the creativity of Zao at that time. He was passionate about contemporary music and a great friend of Varèse. The musician knew how to place silences in the midst of the noise just like the tumultuous landscapes of the artist include quiet details.
29.9.64 is estimated HK $ 38M for sale by Christie's in Hong Kong on May 27, lot 4. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1968 Expression and Contemplation in the Art of Zao Wou-Ki
2011 SOLD 69 MHK$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
From 1959, the dates supersede the titles in the paintings by Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji). The artist appreciates that his most suitable expression is a total abstraction, without calligraphy and with no recognizable shape.
The observer is free to still want to see a landscape, clouds, rocks, signs. But in these strong colors barely dotted witha few thin lines, any attempt at interpretation is immediately contradicted by a new detail. In the end, only remains the pleasure of pure contemplation, and perhaps that sort of Oriental ecstasy is the cause that makes his art so popular.
For four or five years, the art of Zao of the 1950s and 1960s won a passionate customer base in the international salesof Hong Kong. During this period, the prices often went to triple or quadruple the lower estimates.
Sotheby's has already announced some highlights of its autumn session of sales in Hong Kong. On October 3, the auction includes 10.1.68, an oil on canvas of medium size, 117 x 82 cm, estimated HK $ 25M.
Here is the link to the catalogue shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Today's results confirm the growing market for the work of Zao Wou-ki. This painting was sold HK $ 69M including premium.
From 1959, the dates supersede the titles in the paintings by Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji). The artist appreciates that his most suitable expression is a total abstraction, without calligraphy and with no recognizable shape.
The observer is free to still want to see a landscape, clouds, rocks, signs. But in these strong colors barely dotted witha few thin lines, any attempt at interpretation is immediately contradicted by a new detail. In the end, only remains the pleasure of pure contemplation, and perhaps that sort of Oriental ecstasy is the cause that makes his art so popular.
For four or five years, the art of Zao of the 1950s and 1960s won a passionate customer base in the international salesof Hong Kong. During this period, the prices often went to triple or quadruple the lower estimates.
Sotheby's has already announced some highlights of its autumn session of sales in Hong Kong. On October 3, the auction includes 10.1.68, an oil on canvas of medium size, 117 x 82 cm, estimated HK $ 25M.
Here is the link to the catalogue shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Today's results confirm the growing market for the work of Zao Wou-ki. This painting was sold HK $ 69M including premium.
1982 The Mental Fire of Zao Wou-Ki
2013 SOLD 85 MHK$ including premium
The 1970s were difficult for Zao Wou-ki, troubled by the death of his young wife. Time passes and the master again takes interest to life and to his art and enjoys the new worldwide recognition of his talent.
Titled by its date 15.1.82 is typical of this renewal of energy. The large triptych, 195 x 390 cm, juxtaposes the sky and the ground. The preparation is meticulous, with a multitude of fine brush lines on the two background colors of this artwork, yellow ocher and light purple.
This work is a hymn to life. What I supposed to be the ground is not a horizon but instead has the shape of a large and cheerful inside fire. The highest flames mingle with the decidedly impressionistic sky.
One year before the consecration in his native country, Zao was already inspired by the Chinese expression. The panoramic composition of 15.1.82 anticipates the works of similar style where we like to identify a Chinese landscape, such as the 10.3.83 diptych of the sacred mountain that sold for HK $ 37M including premium at Sotheby's on April 6, 2013.
15.1.82 is estimated HK $ 68M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 5. Here is the link to the press release shared by ArtDaily.
POST SALE COMMENT
This triptych is confirmed as a masterpiece of Zao Wou-ki: HK$ 85 million including premium.
Titled by its date 15.1.82 is typical of this renewal of energy. The large triptych, 195 x 390 cm, juxtaposes the sky and the ground. The preparation is meticulous, with a multitude of fine brush lines on the two background colors of this artwork, yellow ocher and light purple.
This work is a hymn to life. What I supposed to be the ground is not a horizon but instead has the shape of a large and cheerful inside fire. The highest flames mingle with the decidedly impressionistic sky.
One year before the consecration in his native country, Zao was already inspired by the Chinese expression. The panoramic composition of 15.1.82 anticipates the works of similar style where we like to identify a Chinese landscape, such as the 10.3.83 diptych of the sacred mountain that sold for HK $ 37M including premium at Sotheby's on April 6, 2013.
15.1.82 is estimated HK $ 68M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 5. Here is the link to the press release shared by ArtDaily.
POST SALE COMMENT
This triptych is confirmed as a masterpiece of Zao Wou-ki: HK$ 85 million including premium.
1986 Zao Wou-Ki inspired by Zhang Daqian
2018 SOLD for HK$ 44M including premium
An oil on canvas 195 x 130 cm titled and dated 25.06.86 by Zao Wou-Ki was sold for HK $ 25.3M including premium by Sotheby's on April 2, 2012. I had discussed it in this column before the sale. It is illustrated in the Artvalue database. This painting is estimated HK $ 34M for sale on April 2, 2018 by China Guardian in Hong Kong, lot 24.
This artwork is an accomplishment of the mutual influence of Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji) and Zhang Daqian.
Working then for thirty years in France, Zao is finally applauded in Asia in 1981 and 1982 with an exhibition tour of his art in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Zhang Daqian, who then resides in Taiwan, is interested in Zao's abstract approach continuously borderline from a figurative evocation.
In 1982 Zhang painted his ultimate masterpiece, Peach Blossom Spring, which is both his lost paradise and his hope for spring renewal. This 209 x 92 cm hanging scroll was sold for HK $ 270M including premium by Sotheby's on April 5, 2016. In 1983 the two artists met in Taipei a few weeks before Zhang's death.
25.06.86 and Peach Blossom Spring have much in common : the vertical format, the composition in large zones of opposite densities, each one consisting of a mingle of delicate hues, and the sharp lines in the foreground over the lower edge. We can also compare the transparent layers of Zao's paint with Zhang's signature ink splashes. 25.06.86 is close to the display of a large waterfall veiling the lower rocks and falling onto a lake.
This artwork is an accomplishment of the mutual influence of Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji) and Zhang Daqian.
Working then for thirty years in France, Zao is finally applauded in Asia in 1981 and 1982 with an exhibition tour of his art in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Zhang Daqian, who then resides in Taiwan, is interested in Zao's abstract approach continuously borderline from a figurative evocation.
In 1982 Zhang painted his ultimate masterpiece, Peach Blossom Spring, which is both his lost paradise and his hope for spring renewal. This 209 x 92 cm hanging scroll was sold for HK $ 270M including premium by Sotheby's on April 5, 2016. In 1983 the two artists met in Taipei a few weeks before Zhang's death.
25.06.86 and Peach Blossom Spring have much in common : the vertical format, the composition in large zones of opposite densities, each one consisting of a mingle of delicate hues, and the sharp lines in the foreground over the lower edge. We can also compare the transparent layers of Zao's paint with Zhang's signature ink splashes. 25.06.86 is close to the display of a large waterfall veiling the lower rocks and falling onto a lake.
