PROVENANCE
Acquired directly form the artist in the mid 50sImportant private collection, Europe

ILLUSTRATED
This painting will be included in the forthcoming CatalogueRaisonné compiled by Madame Françoise Marquet and MonsieurYann Hendgen.This painting is to be sold with a certificate of authenticity issuedby Atelier Zao Wou-ki

“His paintings and lithographs are extremely fascinating. They remind me of the sense of mysteriousness found in Paul Klee’s paintings and simplicity in Ni Zan’s landscapes. It is no exaggeration for me to say that Zao Wou-Ki is one of the greatest artists in the world today.” Ieoh Ming Pei , 1980, New York

Zao’s name in Chinese, Wou-Ki, comes from the Taoist concept of “endless, infinite” - a concept which first appeared in Lao Tzu’s “Tao Te Ching” to define the permanence of the universe. Being one of the most influential Chinese artists of all times, Zao Wou- Ki skillfully reflected the Eastern philosophy of Taoism through the forms of Western Abstract Expressionism. Having experienced much historical unrest and cultural mobility, he painted works that represent turning points during these transitional periods. From his earlier phase in figurative art, the Klee-style images suggested a lyrical abstraction that was essentially Eastern. Zao perfectly shaped an interpretation of Eastern and Western Art concepts through subtle imagination and his experiences of life, the universe, and more.

In 1948, he moved from Shanghai to Paris and began his artistic career in France. Influenced by Western European mainstream schools in painting, he began experimenting with lithographs at the printmaking workshop of Desjobert. This laid the foundation for Zao Wou-Ki’s future production of works. At this time, Zao Wou-Ki entered a phase of self-discovery. From 1949 to 1950, the influence of Paul Klee could already be seen in many of his paintings. In the work, “Le Soleil Rouge” (The Red Sun), the artist neglected traditional perspectives, choosing instead to juxtapose blocks of color. Looking at the painting’s surface, we can see how he used shades of light blue as a base tone, matching it with a bright red sun that reveal an artistic conception both mysterious and ethereal. Those large blocks of color serve as even clearer evidence of a style close to Western Expressionism that simultaneously exudes a childlike playfulness. With the exception of two works from 1951, which feature a customary signature on their lower-right corners, his paintings from 1949 have been signed with an upside down engraving at the center of the canvas. Providing insight into Zao Wou-Ki’s thoughts and feelings during the creative process, his signature is vertically engraved next to the red sun. This threesigned work is extremely precious and rare.

Carefully examining the painting, it is also possible to see how many simple black lines come together to form tree branches. Indeed, the artist retained this unique brushstroke technique from Chinese ink painting. These calligraphic lines, together with the juxtaposed color blocks, unite Chinese and Western culture. The creation of such an inclusive and equitable fusion reflects Zao Wou- Ki’s unique mental imagery.

“I paint my own life. However, I also try to depict an invisible space - that intangible dimension of dreams, a place that feels peaceful even when caught between intense opposite forces”. - Zao Wou-Ki, Autoportrait

A HARMONIOUS AND BOUNDLESS IMAGERY

Like the sun and moon, reality and illusion supplement each other. With a strong Eastern cultural background, Zao Wou- Ki was deeply influenced by traditional Chinese aesthetics and Eastern cosmological concepts regarding life. On the canvas, the mass of color which is the sun fully represents reality, while the moon, impersonated by the lines, symbolizes an imaginary world and resembles the inscriptions on oracle bones. As there’s a hint of reality within imagination, and what is real might carry something fictitious, the “mutuality between truth and fiction” is an aesthetic consciousness unique to Chinese aesthetics. We live in a dimension of periodic spatiotemporal transformation: “nonbeing” is the premise of “being”, “existence” embodies the value of “emptiness”. The sun represents reality, the moon imagination - they are interdependent and utilize each other to form a whole. This unity of thought concerning “fullness and emptiness, being and not-being” laid the theoretical foundations to Chinese painting. Illusion and reality supplement each other, as reality is derived from concepts. Zao Wou-Ki’s works not only summarize the aesthetic features of Chinese art, but they also emphasize the existence of “void” through massive white backgrounds. The large masses of color in the painting thereby innovated the expressive techniques of Chinese painting, just as the rotation of all things in the universe fully embody Lao Tzu’s cosmological concept about the harmony found within nature.

Zao Wou-Ki’s creations not only represent a fusion of Chinese and Western culture, but also convey the spirits of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism that are held in the highest regard by the Chinese people. By carefully looking, perhaps we may also deliberate that the state of mind he wants to portray is “walking is Zen, sitting is Zen: through meditation, a state of peace can be reached from within ourselves, the heart becomes stable, as in nature flowers blossom in spring and leaves fall in autumn; no outside phenomenon can break such stability, both in body and mind, everything becomes clear, both the big and small things”. Only paying attention to the small details is it possible to discover the limitlessness of this world. Just as we imagine the infinite vastness of the universe, we are, in fact, just some tiny protons and neutrons. It is through such small details that Zao Wou-Ki shaped his conception of the universe.