Zao Wou-Ki

signed in Pinyin and Chinese.; signed in Pinyin and dated 27.12.00 on the reverse, framed

Opera Gallery, Singapore
Ravenel, Taipei, 5 December, 2010, lot 151
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

This work will be included in the artist's forthcoming catalogue raisonné prepared by Françoise Marquet and Yann Hendgen (Information provided by Foundation Zao Wou-Ki).

This work is in very good condition. Upon close inspection, there are multiple areas of craquelures are found on the surface. There is no evidence of restoration under ultraviolet light.
"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."

The 1970s marked Zao Wou-Ki’s return to ink wash techniques. As the artist engaged in boundless explorations on the canvas, his fusion of Chinese and Western art imbued his oil paintings with a sense of calm and freedom. Elegant, resounding colour and rhythmic compositions added layered depth to his work, elevating the artist to a new pinnacle late in his career. Beginning in 1980, Zao’s work was being featured in solo exhibitions in New York by eminent art dealer Pierre Matisse; and by 1981, Zao was subsequently honoured by the French government with his first major retrospective at a world-class institution: the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in Paris. Following this, in the 1990s, a solo show for the artist was hosted in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, titled "60 Years of Painting: A Retrospective." The presentation of more than one hundred brilliant works received unprecedented acclaim. The lot on offer by Sotheby's Beijing is 27.12.00 (Lot 41), an oil painting created in 2000, the year that Zao Wou-Ki once again accompanied the French President Jacques Chirac on a visit to China. The same year, Zao participated in “Chine, la Gloire des Empereurs," a major exhibition at the Petit Palais, which houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, an invitation which was further evidence of the artist’s outstanding accomplishment in painting and international recognition of his work. 27.12.00,painted at the apex of Zao's artistic career, is a superlative manifestation of the peak of his artistic attainment.

Unlike the turbulent compositions from the artist's early years, 27.12.00 expresses a light, tranquil, and enchanting ambience. Using resplendent colours, the artist departs from the sedate hues of his early period. Bright blues are often found in Zao’s later works, but never is the same pigment applied across the entire canvas. Rather, the artist blends several hues of light and dark blue with turpentine oil in order to form layering and sprinkling effects previously only achievable in the ink wash medium, thus creating glorious seascapes of myriad variations and transformations. The waves at the centre of the painting seethe and churn, and the torrents of white dots, like infinite reflections of light catching the water, lend a sense of volume to the canvas. The painter also sprinkles soft colours across the distant sky, suggesting a sunset amid rose-coloured clouds and the shimmer of water in the ocean air. His consummate technique perfectly corresponds to the artist Chu Ge's appraisal: "He refines oil paints into neutral tones similar to ink wash, a difficult accomplishment for a Western painter. His colours contain the depth of the san-mei concept of Eastern ink wash, but the richness of the colour is something that cannot be imagined in true ink wash."

In his later years, Zao Wou-Ki's every line and brushstroke on the canvas was infused with lyricism and harmony; he had bid farewell to clashing contrasts. In 27.12.00, his unrestrained will and ingenious technique create a scene of misty clouds floating above a boundless ocean within the dimensions of the canvas. The air and the waves wind together and wrestle, forming a perfect balance between void and substance, tangible and intangible. In the traditional lexicon of Chinese painting, "void" describes a blank or sparse part of a painting, providing the viewer's imagination with room for savouring; "substance" refers to outlined objects and scenery, the places with richly detailed brushwork. Zao uses the canvas to create a cosmic tableau full of vital rhythms; his poignant brushstrokes travel between void and substance, drawing on Western oil painting to express the Eastern philosophy that man is an integral part of nature.

Within the realm of abstract art, Zao Wou-Ki did not simply return to the traditions of Chinese ink wash painting in his later years. Rather, he set out on his own preeminent path of Chinese and Western integration. The artist who straddled Chinese and French traditions lived his last years in France, but the fountainhead of his inspiration came from the self-restraint he had inherited from Chinese culture, a characteristic that permeated his life. As the former President of France Jacques Chirac once said, "Zao Wou-Ki thoroughly understands the natures of our two great nations and combines the two into his person. He belongs both to China and to France." Two years after completing 27.12.00, Zao was elected to the Academie des Beaux-Arts. This momentous honour affirmed his lifelong contributions to the integration of Chinese and Western art, allowing Zao to ascend to the ultimate pedestal of his artistic career.