Li Yuan-chia (Li Yuanjia)

painted in 1958
signed in Chinese

Acquired directly from the artist studio, Bologna
Private Italian Collection

Overall in very good condition with two small blemishes on the paper surface present at the image mid-right and lower right corner inherent to the artist's original intent. Framed with acrylic: 92.5 by 51.3 cm; 36 3/8 by 20 1/4 in.
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Li Yuan-chia is an unusual exponent of the Taiwanese avant-garde from the 1950s,one whose historical contribution to conceptual art in Europe and Asia is largely undervalued and overlooked in the market today. Born in Guangxi Province, China in 1921, Li Yuan-chia emigrated to Taiwan before moving to Italy and eventually retiring in Britain. Fleeing the civil war, he was met with the unforgiving and authoritarian atmosphere of ‘the White Terror’ period in Taiwan, yet, it was this very time that marked the beginning of his own journey of self- awareness and cultivation. Drawing on influences ranging from ancient cave paintings, calligraphy, the philosophies of Laozi and Chan Buddhism, to Wassily Kandinsky’s work, his artistic vision was cemented within a profoundly spiritual and conceptual dimension. Li was a founding member of the influential painting society, Ton Fan Group, audacious advocates for the expression of art that was not confined by the limitations of representation. Furthermore, his national service in Taiwan meant he had extremely limited access to resources, thus leading him to work with basic materials, engaging in a creative process that drew value from the artist’s individuality and methods. In contrast to Li’s quiet and reserved personality, his works are unbridled, embodying his core sentiment of ‘whole I receive, whole I give away.’ ¹

As the political climate in Taiwan became increasingly tense, Li Yuan-chia moved to Italy with support from Italian furniture merchant and patron of the arts, Dino Gavina. He was a member of the Movimento Punto, a group that pursued a fundamentally spiritual means of art. They strived to “perceive the true essence of being in the reality of thought” as stated in the first Il Punto catalogue. As artists, they maintained an outlook that was unbounded by race or national borders. Indeed Li’s works became progressively conceptual, as his calligraphic strokes became more deliberate his colour palette concentrated in  black, red, gold, and white;  representing his desire to “draw and paint what the human eye cannot see: the purity and simplicity, the beauty and wonder of the world”² A man who operated in paradox, Li sought to make his art accessible, believing its beauty was appreciated in tandem with its simplicity,  though he was still conscious of how “the simpler a thing is, the more likely it is to be misinterpreted or even dismissed.” His artistic journey most notably culminated in the visual conception of a ‘tiny dot’, coined the Cosmic Point. It epitomised both the physical and theoretical motif of his works representing not only creator and viewer, but also “infinite space, the beginning and end of all things.”

Thus, while the present two paintings are manifestations of Li’s internal journey and artistic process, they also represent his experiment towards the reduction of colour and his preoccupation with Chinese symbolism. The limitlessness of the universe is characterized by the monochrome background, and each measured stroke, spiral, and dot comes to signify the origin and end of all creations. In particular, as Li distills his colour palette into the use of red, black, and green, and white and red in each painting respectively, the colours become even more pronounced and are able to work effectively in isolation. Li Yuan-chia’s brushstrokes revel in movement, especially when juxtaposed with the stillness of the areas of negative space. Rooted in traditional eastern philosophy,   yet demonstrative of innovative conceptualism and distinctive cosmology, his paintings hang carefully in balance between simplicity what we would think in terms of complexity—ultimately provoking “a strong feeling of power and space.”³

¹ Invitation to All & Nothing Show, 1968, a proposed performance at Speaker’s Corner, Hyde Park, which did not take place due to Li falling ill. Yeh, Diana. “Utopia Beyond Cosmopolitanism,” A Retrospective of Li Yuan-chia Viewpoint I, Taipei Fine Art Museum, 2014, p. 21

² Quotation from ‘General Policy and Future Plans’, LYC Diary, 1977. Yeh, Diana. “Utopia Beyond Cosmopolitanism,” A Retrospective of Li Yuan-chia Viewpoint I, Taipei Fine Art Museum, 2014, p. 35

³  Li Yuan-Chia, “Poem”, A Retrospective of Li Yuan-chia Viewpoint III, Taipei Fine Art Museum, 2014, p. 20