Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji)

signed in Chinese and Pinyin and dated 55; signed in Pinyin, titled and dated 55 on the reverse

Collection Bernard Saby
Collection Suzanne Levassor
Thence by descent to the present owners

This work is in good condition. There is evidence of scattered stable hairline craquelure in the bottom part of the work and very minor scattered paint losses across the surface, only visible under very close examination. There is a brown accretion 0.3 cm in length, 16 cm from the left edge and 22 cm from the bottom edge, presumably inherent to the artist's working method. There is no evidence of restoration under UV. The general tone of this work is brighter with less black, which is not showing in the catalogue illustration.
"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."

Zao Wou-Ki’s Autour du feu
Ancient epic in search of cosmic mystery

"Beyond the changes in his painting, a deep continuation emerges. Zao Wou-Ki’s painting is inhabited by signs. Little by little he extricates them from their gangue of matter and flesh, he pursues them. In Zao Wou-Ki, it would be vain looking for the cut separating the sign and its meaning. Here signes are traces and impressions, betraying the deep roots of the world. It conveys the teaching of Chinese well-read men of his family, it passes on an understanding of the world, it draws its strength from the source of a mythical tradition. Creation in China is not the word, but the sign. They are the traces left by the Creator that are the access roads to the universal."
Dominique de Villepin

Literatus and former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin, a long-time friend of Zao Wou-Ki and great admirer of the artist, once wrote an essay entitled On the tracks of signs that waxes poetic about Zao’s early works. As the Second World War drew to a close, the China art scene experienced a new wave of students bound for foreign lands. In 1948, Zao Wou-Ki landed in France and began his own creative journey. The gradual steps he took toward abstraction also became a symbol of renewed life in Chinese modern art. In the 1950s, the artist contemplated the meaning of painting: because of his extensive travels and intense study of ancient and modern masterpieces, Zao was intent to break age-old rules, thereby creating a new vista for his art. Autour du feu, which was completed in 1955, is a stellar work from Zao Wou-Ki’s “oracle bones” (jiaguwen) period. The work utilizes the ancient allure of carvings on Qin and Han dynasty stone tablets as a springboard, transforming symbols into abstractions, inviting the viewer to read into the images. 

Using lines to forge a new narrative

Zao Wou-Ki was nurtured at Hangzhou School of Fine Arts. During his youthful years, his style was akin to his mentor and teacher Lin Fengmian. Both artists were intent on mastering on canvas the relationship between time and space. While Lin emphasized fixed meeting points of time and space, often employing square-shaped grids that distinguished his output, Zao devoted himself to extending those two dimensions, enabling much more flexible narratives in his composition. In his early years, through the groundbreaking use of simplified images and symbols, Zao’s compositions can be compared with embroidered totems that invite the viewer to drift in the midst of the composition. In Zao’s own words: “Reading is boring, you cannot roam about freely, you must follow the words; you must follow only one path. But painting is different: you can take in everything in one instant, your eyes then roaming to the left or right as you please. You can pick your own path and direction. There is not fixed endpoint.” 

A vibrant red emanates from a point in the middle of Autour du feu, radiating outward like a bonfire in the middle of a forest, illuminating the mystery of the environs. In this unpredictable and mysterious realm, men and beasts coexist in harmony, dancing and singing around the bonfire conjuring a midnight fete from antiquity. Against flickering rays of light, images appear as small dark shadows with clear profiles, though other details are hazy. The artist deliberately obliterates perspective, creating almost a bird’s eye view, enabling all elements in the painting to appear at once without any sense of order. Thus the viewer’s eye roams freely, each person creating a unique narrative and relishing thoroughly self-motivated pleasure.

Inspired by metals and stones, evolving from oracle bones to abstractionism

Autour du feu is daring in ridding itself of perspective and presenting a two-dimensional, mural-like composition. But such inspirations can be traced to ancient Chinese civilisation. By the mid-1950s, Zao Wou-Ki had already stepped into the realm of abstract symbolism. During the post-war period, the Western art world’s new wave of Lyrical Abstraction saw many artists moving toward non-narrative art, among them Frenchmen Hans Hartung and Pierre Soulages and American Mark Rothko. Along with Zao Wou-Ki, this group became a strong force in contemplating how to break down the biggest constraint in the painting tradition. Zao found immense inspirations in the ancient shapes and innate sense of freedom in Shang and Zhou bronze inscriptions and Qin and Han stone carvings. Delving deep into the wisdom of the Chinese ancients, he was motivated to develop his own abstract style. The artist described this transitional phase as follows: “My paintings became unreadable, still-lifes and flowers no longer existed. I was tending towards an imaginary, indecipherable writing.” Connecting writing with drawing is a unique concept in Chinese art. When “writing” and “drawing” combine as one, Western-style still-lifes and human figures began to vanish, and what replace them are symbols of linguistic, representational shapes. And the substance of such a language becomes poetic, with life force brimming outward from within. This work is a veritable preface to Zao’s all-out abstraction after his “oracle bones” period. 

Zao Wou-Ki’s father was a noted collector of antiques, partial to bronze ritual objects. The artist himself was also an expert in Han dynasty stone carvings, having collaborated with French writer Claude Roy in Estampages Han (Han Rubbings), connecting Han dynasty rubbings with Han civilisation. If we compare Autour du feu with inscriptions found on the bronze vessel San Shi Pan dating from the Western Zhou dynasty, the modern painting’s use of colour captures the corrosive texture of metals and stones against fiery red hues spreading from within, emblematic of cumulative layers of history. Moreover, the vegetative patterns amidst human figures and animals are reminiscent of those large, indecipherable seal scripts. Han dynasty stone carvings transform human figures and actions into symbols and patterns, sometimes putting them side by side; and these characteristics also appear in this painting.

Autour du feu contains much of the essence of Zao Wou-ki’s “oracle bones period”; its dominant, passionate red hues are reminiscent of last year’s 89.68 million RMB (about 113 million HKD) record sale of Zao’s Abstraction at Sotheby’s Beijing. The images in Autour du feu evoke for us the ancient torch of passing time; they unearth the beauty of Eastern civilisation. In this mysterious yet mesmerizing painting, viewers find themselves standing at the threshold of abstraction.