Crane Dances Above the Sky:
The Masterpiece of Zao Wou-Ki’s Birthday and Love
The red-crowned crane is known as “first-class bird” in Chinese and features prominently in classical Chinese poetry as an auspicious symbol of success in officialdom. Moreover, the bird also symbolises longevity and prosperity due to its elegant gait and association with immortals. A masterpiece of Zao Wou-Ki’s Hurricane Period, 13.02.62 (Lot 1021) does not explicitly depict a red-crowned crane, but its palette of bright red and silvery white readily evokes the auspicious bird. Ink-black brushstrokes extend outward from the centre of the composition, recalling the freedom of flight. Completed on Zao Wou-Ki’s birthday, 13.02.62 augurs the painter’s widespread recognition in Europe, the United States, and Asia in the 1960s. His dashing and energetic brushwork channels an unbridled optimism and expressive fervour, and perfectly embodies the self-possession of a painter at the height of his career.
According to Fondation Zao Wou-Ki, the painter’s Chinese identity record shows his date of birth on 13 February 1920 in Beijing. However, when he became a French citizen, he recorded his birthdate as 1 February for unknown reasons. Here we take the Foundation’s date as authoritative. In his Hurricane Period, Zao Wou-Ki almost exclusively titled his works after their dates of creation. The significant date of 13 February explains his uncharacteristic use here of bright, impactful colours (in contrast, for example, to 05.11.62 (Lot 1019)) and of bright red, the traditional Chinese colour for auspicious dates, in particular. Zao’s compositions from the 1960s tend to coalesce around the central axes and feature dashing calligraphic brushwork, reflecting the artist’s confidence and magnanimity. 13.02.62 goes even further, as the calligraphic brush strokes here have a centrifugal and upward momentum, reflecting the painter’s increasingly lofty and spiritual aspirations. Among Zao’s recorded extant works, very few were created on the same day of the same month. Both 13.02.67 and 13.02.92 are unusually large, and as the first work dated to this important date, 13.02.67 is of immense art historical significance.
The unbridled expressiveness of Zao’s Hurricane Period reflects his confidence and virtuosic mastery at the height of his creative and physical prowess. From his Oracle Bone Period to his Hurricane Period, Zao underwent an important personal transformation. Of particular importance was his two-year world tour, which began in 1957. In that decade, Zao had already begun to gain international recognition for his Oracle Bone series, but his failed first marriage damped his spirits and caused him to leave Paris on sojourns in the United States and, accompanied by Pierre Soulages and his wife, in various Asian countries. During these travels, Zao not only experienced first-hand the revolutionary developments in post-war international contemporary art but also met May Kan, the woman who would become his second wife and the love of his life. After meeting in Hong Kong in 1958, the couple quickly married and began a passionate romance, which motivated Zao to refocus on his art. By the time he returned to his Paris studio, he was ready to launch the new works that would constitute his Hurricane Period. Zao Wou-Ki once described May in these loving words, “[She has] the glamour of a movie star, the maturity beyond her young age, and despite having lived through difficult times still maintains the innocence of youth. She knows my painting.” The stability and joy of their relationship helped Zao find endless creative inspiration. The lot on offer commemorates not only Zao’s birthday but also Valentine’s Day. In the painting’s grand cosmic vision, with immortal cranes appearing and disappearing amidst a fiery world, we may feel the newlyweds’ passion and mutual devotion.
Around the time of 13.02.62’s creation, Zao Wou-Ki had just returned from a trip to the United States, where he interacted with members of the New York School. This experience is reflected in his Hurricane Period works. The bipartite division of 13.02.62 into geometric colour fields readily recalls Mark Rothko, as well as an Asian aesthetics of emptiness. It is interesting to note that Sanyu sojourned in New York in the 1940s, and in the backgrounds of the paintings he produced afterward likewise show Rothko’s influence. An important example is Sanyu’s Nu avec un pékinois (Lot 8004) from the 1950s. Although the two Chinese-born painters pursued different stylistic paths, with one painting figuratively and the other abstractly, they both adopted American abstraction into their art and interpreted it through their own deep foundations in Chinese calligraphy. The subtle resonances between Sanyu and Zao Wou-Ki are well illustrated by Nu avec un pékinois and 13.02.62, both masterpieces of born of the international nature of post-war art.
13.02.62 originated in the Laing Gallery of Toronto. Director Blair Laing was one of the most prominent Canadian art dealers of the 20th century. Known for his sharp eye, Laing gathered some of the most brilliant young artists of the 1950s and ’60s in his gallery, creating a vibrant art and collecting scene in the heretofore artistically marginal city of Toronto. In 2019, Sotheby’s Hong Kong offered 19.01.61, another painting by Zao that originated in the Laing Gallery. The painting’s then-owner remembers that when she bought it, “We had almost no furniture for our house then. However, my husband had inherited a small amount of money from his family and we decided to embrace our dream for a ‘private art collection.’ The gallery had several of his paintings mostly in red…” One of these “red” paintings may have been 13.02.62, making it a precious artefact of the scarcely documented Laing Gallery.
Alongside 13.02.62, this evening auction includes several other important works by Zao Wou-Ki from the 1950s and 60s, during the period in which he lived and worked frequently in the United States. Together these works present a clear trajectory of development. Untitled (Golden City) (Lot 1033) represents Zao’s debut in New York under the representation of the Cadby Birch Gallery, which culminated in its publication in Life Magazine in 1954. Spirits (Lot 1059) represents Zao’s increasingly prominence in the U.S. art scene in the 1950s under the representation of the Keemann Galleries. Pierre Soulages’s Peinture 125 x 202 cm, 30 Octobre 1958 (Lot 1034) documents the acclaim garnered by the Nouvelle École de Paris thanks to vigorous promotion by the famous Kootz Gallery of New York, whose director Sam Kootz signed a contract with Zao Wou-Ki on Soulages’s suggestion. The Laing Gallery introduced 05.11.62 and 13.02.62 to the Canadian art scene and further cemented Zao’s reputation in North America, paving the way for the global acclaim that he received in his Hurricane Period. The significance of 13.02.62 in marking Zao Wou-Ki’s global prominence is underscored by its publication and exhibition history: it was featured in the exhibition “Paris 1945-1965” at the Linz Lentos Kunstmuseum and included in the important art historical publication L’art au XXe siècle.
- Calligraphic brushwork 書法線條
Ink-black brushstrokes extend outward from the centre of the composition, recalling the freedom of flight. The calligraphic brush strokes here have a centrifugal and upward momentum, reflecting the painter’s increasingly lofty and spiritual aspirations.
畫中墨黑的筆觸援引書法的勁拔雄奇，張弛有致地從中心開展、傾注四周，有如百鶴展翅八方，恣意盤旋於天上俯瞰盛景。強勁的筆勢不僅展現結聚、緊湊的經典佈局，同時亦奮力掙脫中心引力，朝上躍動飛騰、節節上升 ，反映藝術家在揮筆當刻定必精神高仰、舉首戴目，直奔登峰造極之雄渾境界。
- Red colour 紅調
13.02.62 does not explicitly depict a red-crowned crane, but its palette of bright red and silvery white readily evokes the auspicious bird. In the painting’s grand cosmic vision, with immortal cranes appearing and disappearing amidst a fiery world, we may feel the newlyweds’ passion and mutual devotion.
《13.02.62》以丹紅為頂、銀白為身，畫中雖未見具體的仙鶴形象浮現，卻充分地表達了一股福瑞吉祥的氣氛。
巨幅構圖包羅萬象，時而有若仙鶴乍現、時而則如洪荒萬變，大片烈焰如火的紅色調，讓人聯想到熱情、慾望與力量，處處傳遞愛情蕩漾的澎湃情感。 - Bipartite composition 「天上地下」構圖
The bipartite division of 13.02.62 into geometric colour fields readily recalls Mark Rothko, as well as an Asian aesthetics of emptiness.
《13.02.62》採用了「天上地下」的兩段式構圖，背景以幾何色塊分割上下方，筆鋒雄悍豪邁地刷灑顏料，不難發現這與俄裔美藉抽象大師羅斯科的經典色域構圖遙相呼應，在現代油畫的領域裡導入東方美學的留白意識。
- Central axis 中軸式結構
Zao’s compositions from the 1960s tend to coalesce around the central axes and feature dashing calligraphic brushwork, reflecting the artist’s confidence and magnanimity.
趙無極六〇年代的作品以中軸式結構為主，宛如飛白行書的線條凝聚畫面中心，映照了趙無極唯我獨尊的雄心氣魄。
鶴舞九天：
趙無極生辰與愛之鉅獻
丹頂鶴作為羽族之長，素有「一品鳥」的雅稱，古人以鶴吟詩入畫，即有一品當朝的美好寓意；此外，鶴在中國傳統文化裡亦象徵長壽，《淮南子・說林訓》有記：「鶴壽千歲，以極其遊」，其形象高潔不群，過往在朝廷或民間皆為福壽安康的象徵符號。趙無極的「狂草時期」鉅作《13.02.62》（拍品編號1021），以丹紅為頂、銀白為身，畫中雖未見具體的仙鶴形象浮現，卻充分地表達了一股福瑞吉祥的氣氛，畫中那些墨黑的筆觸援引書法的勁拔雄奇，張弛有致地從中心開展、傾注四周，有如百鶴展翅八方，恣意盤旋於天上俯瞰盛景。《13.02.62》完成於趙無極誕辰當日，所謂四十而不惑，其時藝術家全速進入六〇年代的巔峰歲月，憑藉過人才情屢獲突破，並在歐洲、美洲與亞洲展開了精彩的三線發展，以旅法華人抽象大師之名打開國際知名度，其畫面處處展現熱血沸騰的情感，筆勢有如狂草般縱橫馳騁，完美體現藝術家當刻席捲天下、鵬路翱翔的自信與氣魄。
據藝術家基金會的資料所示，趙無極在1920年2月出生於北京，依中國的身分文件紀錄所載，其生日日期為2月13日，而後來入籍法國的文件上卻改為2月1日，箇中原由未知，而趙無極基金會則以中國文件的2月13日為準。踏入「狂草時期」以後，趙無極罕有再為作品命名，而僅只以創作日期為唯一的閱讀線索；於壽辰當日誕生的《13.02.62》尤顯罕貴，亦因而闡明藝術家為何一改採用深邃顏色作為畫作主調的慣性，如同場呈獻並創於同年之《05.11.62》（拍品編號1019），並於此特別的日子𥚃揮灑著充滿喜慶感的艷紅色調，營造滿滿的祝福意味。趙無極六〇年代的作品以中軸式結構為主，宛如飛白行書的線條凝聚畫面中心，映照了趙無極唯我獨尊的雄心氣魄，而《13.02.62》的構圖深度則更上一層，強勁的筆勢不僅展現結聚、緊湊的經典佈局，同時亦奮力掙脫中心引力，朝上躍動飛騰、節節上升 ，反映藝術家在揮筆當刻定必精神高仰、舉首戴目，直奔登峰造極之雄渾境界。翻查藝術家的出版書籍和拍賣紀錄，創於同日的作品僅有少數，包括《13.02.67》和《13.02.92》，皆選用了較一般標準畫布更恢宏的尺幅，而本作則是首幅以此日期命名的鉅作，別具紀念價值。
趙無極狂草時期的畫風激情澎湃，不難看出藝術家作畫時一氣呵成的非凡自信，其時正值盛年，體力固然充沛，面對著漸趨恢宏畫幅，充滿能量的創造力亦滿溢胸懷。這突如其來的創作狂潮絕非偶然，從「甲骨文時期」過渡至「狂草時期」，正正體現藝術家身心臻至完滿的心路歷程，此與趙無極在1957年開展為期兩年的環球旅程不無關係：五〇年代中，藝術家憑藉「甲骨文系列」在國際藝壇上初露光芒，成功走進全球抽象熱潮的核心，但經歷過第一段婚姻破裂的低潮，使他毅然暫別巴黎，遠遊美洲散心，更在皮耶・蘇拉吉夫婦的陪同下前往亞洲多國旅行；此番行程，趙無極不僅親身感受到國際戰後藝術浪潮之革命性發展，更讓他邂逅了畢生摯愛的第二任妻子美琴，二人在1958年香港相知相遇，並閃電締結婚盟，此段充滿浪漫與激情的關係，滋潤著藝術家重新投入創作的思潮；旅程完結回到巴黎畫室後，經已養精蓄銳，迎來舉世觸目的狂草時代。趙無極曾憐愛地形容美琴「既有電影明星的光彩，又有經歷過患難女子那種超越青春年齡的成熟、聰慧，但也始終保持着少女的純真，她懂我的畫。」在初遇美琴的這些日子裡，二人相依相伴，趙無極的創作靈感亦紛紛湧現；本作不僅標誌著趙無極的誕辰，亦是西方情人節的前夕，可想像趙無極在美琴貼心的扶持下完成此作，巨幅構圖包羅萬象，時而有若仙鶴乍現、時而則如洪荒萬變，大片烈焰如火的紅色調，讓人聯想到熱情、慾望與力量，處處傳遞愛情蕩漾的澎湃情感。
趙無極此時剛完成赴美之旅，期間與紐約畫派成員的互動與交流，亦反映於「狂草系列」之中：《13.02.62》採用了「天上地下」的兩段式構圖，背景以幾何色塊分割上下方，筆鋒雄悍豪邁地刷灑顏料，不難發現這與俄裔美藉抽象大師羅斯科的經典色域構圖遙相呼應，在現代油畫的領域裡導入東方美學的留白意識。饒富趣味的是，常玉在四〇年代曾一度旅居紐約，自此其創作在背景的處理上，亦頗見羅斯科和美國抽象表現主義之影響，同場呈獻常玉創於五〇年代之《裸女與北京狗》（拍品編號8004）即為重要一例；若將常玉的《裸女與北京狗》與趙無極《13.02.62》的並置而觀，即展現兩代旅法華人大師雖然在具象與抽象之路上各奔前程，卻不約而同地將其美式抽象的靈感融入創作，並揉合自身深厚的書法底蘊，呈現出截然不同卻又隱然呼應的構圖風格，成就一對聯繫亞、歐、美洲戰後美學的經典鉅作。
《13.02.62》最初源自多倫多萊茵畫廊，主理人布萊爾・萊茵是二十世紀最活躍的加拿大畫商之一，在其獨具慧眼的帶領下，畫廊徵集五、六〇年代戰後藝術圈最有潛能的新星，為原本在國際藝壇上處於邊緣的多倫多，激活藝術發展與收藏氣氛。萊茵亦是率先將趙無極推廣至加拿大的重要推手，藝術家於1969舉行的第二次作品回顧展，即選址於蒙特利爾當代藝術博物館及魁北克博物館。香港蘇富比曾於2019年呈獻同樣源自多倫多萊茵畫廊之《19.01.61》，當時的藏家在回憶購藏該作時曾提到「我們渴望著往那空蕩蕩的牆壁高掛一幅趙無極的作品，當時屋內連傢俬都沒有多少，我們便迫不及待地駕車回到多倫多。萊茵畫廊裡還有好幾張紅色的趙無極畫作......」，即有可能意指包括《13.02.62》在内之紅色狂草系列，有關趙無極六〇年代在萊茵畫廊的經歷記載稀少，如此見證可謂難能可貴。
以《13.02.62》為首，本場現代藝術晚間拍賣有幸雲集趙無極與同期大師在五、六〇年代遠赴美洲發展的重要精品，將其軌跡清晰重現：《無題（黃金城市）》（拍品編號1033）代表趙無極在畢趣畫廊的代理下首次出戰紐約，並在1954年登上家傳戶曉的《生活雜誌》、《士氣》（拍品編號1059）代表在克里曼畫廊的經營下，其五〇年代作品進一步推廣至美國畫壇、皮耶・蘇拉吉的《畫作 125 X 202厘米，1958年10月30日》（拍品編號1034）象徵戰後新巴黎畫派在紐約著名的庫茲畫廊的積極推廣下聲名大噪，主理人森姆・庫茲更在蘇拉吉的推薦下與趙無極簽約，而在萊茵畫廊的悉心策劃下，《05.11.62》與《13.02.62》順利引進加拿大畫壇，助其藝術事業全面深入北美板塊，造就趙無極「狂草系列」由全速崛起至風靡全球的黃金盛世。《13.02.62》的出版與展覽紀錄尤其關鍵， 不僅曾於2003年展出於林茲倫托斯藝術館〈巴黎 1945-1965〉展覽，更被著錄於〈二十世紀的藝術〉重要藝術史書籍，見證趙無極躍等國際現代藝術大師之列。
Zao Wou-Ki's Auction Precedent
