![]() ![]() Zao once said, "Many of my paintings seem sparse. While his notion about form and empty space originates from the Chinese painting tradition, the use of abstract light sources is a technique inspired by Western paintings. The division of space in 15.05.60 derives in part from Zao Wou-Ki's firm grasp of the relationships between form and empty space, and in part from his skilful handling of light. The brushstrokes in the lower half of the painting, sparse yet strong, guide the viewer into a receding path beyond. The sense of space "in which you can roam about," as seen in Song Dynasty paintings, is also evident in this work. 15.05.60 is a work reminiscent of the Tang Dynasty master Li Tang, who characteristically divided his compositions with slanted lines to create an elegant and steady division of space. The dynamic motion of the entire picture is well balanced by the peaceful grey and white in the left quadrants. In the process of merging the fine and thick lines, a sense of movement and the passage of time is created as we can see in the brush movements of Chinese calligraphy. By combining varying hues and shades, Zao gradually discovered how spatial depth was created. In this work, Zao's lines no longer serve as calligraphic motifs or have any imbedded narrative meaning, instead, they have become expressive themes in their own term. Hence, spaces and lines are the most important elements in 15.05.60. Sometimes, in areas where short, curving lines converge, we see how these lines have evolved from the works in Zao's Oracle-Bone period. In 15.05.60, Zao transforms his earlier symbolic motifs into lines that are furled, layered, and stretched across the canvas, lines which one after another find their way into a unified space in black and white. Michel Ragon, in the Catalogue Foreword of Zao's 1962 exhibition in Madrid The kind of nature that appears in his paintings is something deep inside of his Mind, and subconsciously, when he faces a new white canvas, he creates the landscape in his dreams. Nowadays, he no Longer sketches those nature scenes, and even when he is traveling he no Longer sees the scenery. Earlier, when he was still a figurative artist, he would habitually fill his sketchbooks with drawings for later references. Viewing Zao's recent paintings evokes a sense of landscape scenes, vague, misty landscape scenes or, to put it another way, Chinese landscapes. In 15.05.60, Zao not only rediscovers the traditional notion that the energy of life is expressed by suggesting rather than merely reproducing a subject, but also, in the light and shadow of the work, a kind of poetic dialogue between East and West ensues. Black marks a primal state of darkness and emptiness, countered by white which is associated with brightness and hope. Zao transforms the bare variations of shades in black and white to a multi-layered transition of colours. You have transcended beyond anything you've ever painted before." 15.05.60 (Lot 7) is a product of Zao's new stylistic arrival after years of probing and exploring, and it embodies the solid achievement of his 1950s period. However, through this person and the world that we are not familiar with, I am touched by something that I know and could recognize. The world in his heart and that kind of past history, racial group, scenery, and light are unknown to me. ![]() In 1960, a month after the completion of this piece, Manessier mentioned in a letter to Zao, "I am really glad to be able to say that this person is very different. 133).Dominique de Villepin, Françoise Marquet, Yann Hendgen, Zao Wou-Ki - Oeuvres 1935-2008, Kwai Fung Art Publishing House, 2010 (illustrated, p. Galerie Patrice Trigano, Zao Wou-Ki - Oeuvres anciennes, Paris, France, 1984 (illustrated, unpaged).ĭominique de Villepin, Françoise Marquet, Yann Hendgen, Zao Wou-Ki - Oeuvres 1935-2008, Flammarion, Paris, France, 2009 (illustrated, p. National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, Hangzhou, China, Zao Wou-Ki, 1983 (illustrated, unpaged). Kunstlerhaus, Zao Wou-Ki, Salzbourg, Austria, 1970 (illustrated, p. Musée d'Art Contemporain, Montréal, Canada Musée du Québec, Québec, Canada, Zao Wou-Ki, 1969 (illustrated, unpaged). cat., Essen, Germany, 1965 (illustrated, p. Salas de exposiciones del Ateneo, Zao Wou-Ki, Madrid, Spain, 1962 (illustrated, unpaged). cat., Montréal, Canada, 1961 (illustrated, p. Musée de Montréal, La Peinture Contemporaine Fran?aise, exh. Galerie de France, Zao Wou-Ki, Paris, France, 1960 (illustrated, p. ![]()
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