LI YUAN-CHIA

(1929-1994)

Untitled

Footnotes

Provenance
Richard Saltoun Gallery, London
Acquired from the above by the present owner

李元佳
無題
水墨 水彩 紙本
1958年作

簽名：元佳 y.c.LEE （左上）

此作附Richard Saltoun畫廊開立之作品保證書

來源
倫敦，Richard Saltoun畫廊
現藏家得自上述來源

Li Yuan-chia, a founding member of Taiwan's avant-garde Fifth Moon Group in the 1950s, devoted his early practice to merging the traditions of Chinese calligraphy with the language of Western abstraction. Featured in this sale are three "Untitled" works by Li, created between 1958 and 1962, which trace the trajectory of his artistic evolution—from expressive brushwork rooted in Eastern aesthetics to the distilled minimalism that would define his later practice.

The two ink-and-watercolor works from 1958 reveal a lyrical visual vocabulary, composed of fluid lines and weightless forms that drift across the surface like musical notations. While influenced by modernists such as Kandinsky and Miró, these pieces retain the structural cadence and gestural expressiveness of Chinese brush painting. They often incorporate ideogram-like or oracle bone–inspired motifs, transforming natural rhythms and philosophical reflection into a dynamic, abstract language. The work dated 1962, in contrast, signals a pivotal shift. Rendered on red paper, it introduces a deeper material presence and intensified emotional tone. For Li, red symbolized "blood and life," and together with black and gold, formed a core chromatic lexicon signifying beginnings and endings, purity and nobility. In this work, gold pigment punctuates the composition, interacting with inky marks to evoke solemnity, gravity, and a cosmic sensibility. The sparse, intentional application of ink and pigment also foreshadows Li's later engagement with "dots" and voids, a hallmark of his participation in the European PUNTO (Point) movement, which explored metaphysical ideas of space, emptiness, and universal order.

Though varying in composition and tone, the three works collectively reflect Li Yuan-chia's lifelong belief in abstraction as a conduit for spiritual inquiry. They laid the foundation for his pioneering transnational practice—later realized in Italy and the United Kingdom—and offer rare insight into the formative years of one of Taiwan's most visionary postwar artists.

李元佳為1950年代「東方畫會」創始成員，致力融合東方書寫與西方抽象語彙。本次三件〈無題〉完成於1958至1962年間，展現其藝術語言由書寫性向極簡抽象過渡的軌跡。1958年兩件水墨作品筆觸靈動，線條宛如音符游走紙上，吸納康丁斯基、米羅等西方現代藝術精髓，亦保留東方筆墨的節奏與象形意涵。1962年作品則改以紅紙為底，墨跡與金色油彩交融，更顯得沉穩、凝重，色彩張力中蘊藏「血與生命」的象徵。畫面中留白與「點」的處理，預示其日後在歐洲「龐圖」（Punto）運動中對宇宙與空無的極簡思辨。三件作品風格各異，卻同樣體現藝術家以抽象語彙進行精神探問的創作本質，為其後旅居義大利與英國的藝術生涯奠定堅實基礎，亦見證戰後台灣現代藝術蓬勃萌芽的重要時刻。