Footnotes

Provenance
Collection of Pierre Neurisse, France
Private Collection, Paris
Sale: Auction Massol, Paris, 16 October 2006, Lot 131
Private Collection, Portugal
Sale: Bonhams, Hong Kong, Voyages of Discovery, 27 May 2012, Lot 15
Private Collection, Asia
Sale: Christie's, Hong Kong, Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art (Evening Sale), 25 November 2017, Lot 31
Acquired from the above sale by the present owner

趙無極
無題
水彩 水墨 紙本 裱於畫布
1964年作

簽名：ZAO 64（右下），À Pierre Neurisse - très amicalement（左下）

趙無極基金會已為此作提供認證

來源
Pierre Neurisse 舊藏
巴黎私人收藏
拍賣：巴黎，Massol，2006年10月16日，拍品編號131
葡萄牙私人收藏
拍賣：香港，邦瀚斯，「尋古探新」，2012年5月27日，拍品編號15
亞洲私人收藏
拍賣：香港，佳士得，「亞洲二十世紀及當代藝術 （晚間拍賣）」，2017年11月25日，拍品編號31
現藏家得自上述來源

Zao Wou-Ki is one of the most important Chinese artists of the 20th century. He grew up in an academic family, and his childhood was steeped in literature and art. In 1935, he was accepted by the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. Under the tutelage of principal Lin Fengmian, Wu Dayu, and other avant-garde artists, he studied the creative approaches of modern Western masters such as Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. Through the encouragement of his father, Zao Wou-Ki travelled to France with his wife Lalan to further his artistic endeavours in 1948. The following year, Zao's first solo exhibition opened at the Galerie Creuze in Paris with universal acclaim. His first professional success, along with his sociable character and infectious personality, made him very popular in the artistic circles in France. Subsequently, he was invited to show his works in numerous salon exhibitions. In 1957, Zao travelled to New York where he was deeply influenced by American Abstract Expressionist artists. As a result, his use of colour and brushwork became bolder than ever. This stylistic turning point ushered in the 13-year long Hurricane Period — a golden period in the artist's career.

Painted in 1964, this work is widely considered as an important milestone in the Hurricane Period. It was during this time that Zao Wuo-Ki infused the line work of Chinese ink painting in his abstract works—a major feature in this particular series. As an overseas Chinese painter, Zao could deftly utilise Western painting mediums and tools. This made him a prominent figure in integrating Eastern traditions with Western Modernism. In traditional Chinese painting, ink has five different tones: charred, concentrated, diluted, dry, and wet. Zao expertly applied these tones with water colour as well as Chinese ink on this work. Moreover, each tone can be subtly adjusted with varying degrees of wetness and dilution. Taking inspiration from the morphing tones of Chinese literati ink paintings, Zao layered translucent sapphire blue washes with Chinese ink, creating a work that is spatially rich. Viewers are drawn into the luminous dimensions of this painting as the foreground, middle ground, and background fantastically intersect each other. In this imaginative and lyrical space, torrential washes and unbridle lines criss-cross to form a structure that is akin to wild cursive writing in Chinese calligraphy. This chaotic tension heightens the dynamism in the work as if the force of nature has been conjured. Not only is this approach of transforming natural phenomenon into abstract elements a continuation of American Abstract Expressionism, it is also integrating Eastern elements that break with tradition—this inventive and highly personalised execution style became Zao Wuo-Ki's signature painting language.

Works from Zao Wuo-Ki's Hurricane Period transcend representational imageries and narratives— they speak to a mental state that is spiritual and philosophical. In terms of composition, Zao uses scattered perspective to unseat the fixed point of view of linear perspective, which is conventionally used in Western painting. Unique to Chinese mountain-water painting, this technique enables the perspective to change and flow with the gazes of the viewers as they progress through the work. Since the horizon and vanishing points are decentralised, the room for imagination becomes expansive. Through his incisive observations and profound contemplations, Zao Wuo-Ki integrated Chinese calligraphy lines into abstract compositions. The quintessential spirit of mountain-water painting elevates the aesthetics of abstract art to new heights.

趙無極是二十世紀最重要的華人藝術家之一。他出生於書香世家，在文學與藝術的薰陶下長大。在1935年，他考入國立杭州藝專，師從校長林風眠和吳大羽等革新派藝術家，並接觸到塞尚、馬蒂斯、畢卡索等西方現代藝術大師的創作觀念。1948年，趙無極在父親的支持下與妻子謝景蘭前往法國深造。抵法隔年於克勒茲畫廊舉行的首次個展即獲好評，加上趙無極愛好遊歷、結交朋友的個性，很快地便進入法國藝術圈參與各項藝術沙龍展覽。趙無極在1957年前往紐約，受到美國抽象表現主義畫家的影響，色彩變化和筆觸運用顯得更加豪放，開展了長達十三年的「狂草時期」，標誌其藝術生涯的一段黃金時期。

本作繪於1964年，可說是「狂草時期」的重要里程碑。在這段時期，趙無極將中國水墨線條融入抽象創作，這被視為其作品的一大特色。他作為海外華人藝術家，卻能熟練運用西方藝術顏料和工具，成為東方傳統與西方現代主義融合的俵俵者。他將傳統中國水墨畫中的墨分五色的表現，通過水彩和墨水的媒材表達於本作中。這五色包括「焦」、「濃」、「重」、「淡」、「清」，而每一種色調又可根據乾濕程度和濃淡變化而微妙調整。借取中國人文水墨的豐富變化，清透的寶藍色與墨色交錯渲染，創造出一層層半透明層次，帶出作品的深度與空間感，讓觀者可以進入畫中，穿越前、中、遠景，如夢似幻地交匯，形成充滿想像性的詩意空間。澎湃激盪、豪邁不羈的水墨線條在畫作下半交織，猶如轉折多變的草書結構，為畫面增添動態，彷彿喚起自然風雲突變的氛圍。將自然體驗轉化為抽象元素的思維，不僅體現了對美國抽象表現主義藝術的追求，同時融合了東西方元素並超越了傳統，為趙無極開創了獨特的個人化繪畫語言。

趙無極於「狂草時期」超越具像表達和敘事性，而逐漸提升至體現精神與哲學深度的層次。在構圖上，他採用中國山水畫的散點透視法，使畫面構圖沒有固定視角，與西方繪畫迥然不同，隨著觀者的移動和觀看角度而不斷變幻。觀者難以分辨畫面的軸心，充滿想像空間，展現萬象之勢。趙無極以內心感悟，將書法線條融入抽象構圖，結合山水畫之精粹，將抽象藝術之美帶入新的高度。